James Potter is Not Dead
by TuRtLe88
Summary: It's Harry's sixth year and one James Potter shows up suffering from amnesia after having spent fifteen years in muggle care. What will happen now that James is back in the wizarding world? A little AU
1. Chapter 1

James Potter woke with a start and memories flooded into his head. Memories of his childhood, memories of school and memories of a redhead and a boy who looked remarkably like him save for his emerald colored eyes.

_All these years in a loony bin_, he thought, _and I get them back now._ James shook his head and realized that he had to figure out how to contact Dumbledore. It wouldn't be easy. Wasn't it just yesterday that the nurses were talking about how he could very well never get his memories back, and probably never would? James tried to think about what had triggered the memories.

St. Luke's, his home for the last nine years, or rather, the only time he had remembered until now. Having lost memories of all but his name, James Potter was sent there for memory recovery. All he knew about his life before St. Luke's was what the nurses had been able to tell him (it wasn't much at all) and what he speculated. That didn't mean any of it was right, of course.

All he could think of was the only thing he remembered from his dream: a blinding green flash. He mused to himself about how like the killing curse that flash had been. He also thought it was funny that he could remember Dumbledore's name but the red haired woman and the boy, who he assumed was their son by the boy's appearance, remained nameless in his mind.

James was mulling over these thoughts when he checked out that morning to go to work. James, despite lacking memory of the majority of his life, was fully functioning and deemed not a threat to society as a whole so he was allowed to work. His friends, for James Potter made friends wherever he went, all asked him if the world was still the same as when he left it. He could never answer them properly.

Just then, James had the celerity to call in and tell his boss that he needed the day off. James rarely asked for things like this and when he did it was usually to go out and have a fun day. The nurses didn't mind when he did this as he had a cell phone and he wasn't a threat considering the only thing wrong with him was his missing memory.

James apparated to the Hog's Head after going down a deserted alleyway. Once there, he was greeted gruffly by Aberforth Dumbledore who said something about it being too early in the morning to be in his pub.

"Good to see you again, Aberforth!" James greeted warmly.

"James Potter?" Aberforth asked squinting. "You look too old to be Harry…" James wondered briefly who Harry was but didn't have much time to mull over it. "You're supposed to be dead, you know."

"I'm fully alive and functioning. I lost my memory for-- goodness, how long has it been?" James smiled broadly and fell into one of his school boy habits by ruffling his hair.

"Oh, it's you all right," Aberforth remarked when he saw that. "And it'll be fifteen years this Halloween."

"Can I borrow your Floo to visit your brother?" James implored.

"Of course, run right to Albus," Aberforth muttered sulkily.

"Sorry Aberforth. I always liked you better, if it helps." James shot the old man a winning smile which he rolled his eyes at. The younger man stepped into the Floo and let himself be whisked away to Albus Dumbldore's office.

"Merlin, you're alive," Albus Dumbledore breathed when James stepped out of the fireplace.

"Somehow I get the feeling you knew," James replied dryly. "I see you still have the same two chairs in here." James sunk into the one that he had often sat in as a boy.

"I'm afraid I can't get the details right away but Severus should be here any moment for tea." Albus smiled apologetically and then sat down at his desk. "You don't mind, do you?"

"May I inquire as to why you have tea with Sanpe?" James asked levelly.

"He's my Potions Master and I like to keep up to date on my staff's lives." Dumbledore smiled calmly and looked at James through his spectacles. Just then there was a knock at the office door. "Come in," Dumbledore called good-naturedly.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor," Snape said as he swooped in. James couldn't help but notice that he looked more like a bat than ever.

"Two minutes is hardly late, Severus," Albus replied.

"I thought you were dead," Severus remarked scowling upon seeing James sitting in the office.

"Afraid not, Sev," James said tauntingly. James suddenly felt the weight of hundreds of memories rushing back into his head. All of the memories concerned Severus. Some were good; some were bad. Mostly they just made James want to hug Severus.

"What's with that look, Potter?" Snape growled.

"Memories. It hurts," was all James could manage. The sudden onslaught of memories had left him with a massive headache.

"I'll call Poppy here at once. Severus, could you take a look at his memories?" Everything was fuzzy and James could feel himself wanting to fall asleep. Maybe it was better when the memories came because of a dream. Soon though, he felt a calming presence in his mind and identified it as Severus.

Too soon, Severus left his mind and James could feel the memories crushing him again. "He seems to be suffering from amnesia, sir," Severus remarked. "He's memories are spotty at best. He can remember the Order and certain things from school but he can't remember who his friends or Lily are."

"And Harry?"

"Brief glimpses of him. Nothing more."

Just then, Poppy Pomfrey stepped through the gate. Upon realizing who was on the floor clutching his head, she fainted. After Severus ennervated her she got to work checking James out.

"He seems to be bombarded by his missing memories. After living without them for so long, he's having trouble coping with their recent recovery. Other than that, his body is perfectly healthy. He's been well taken care of these past fifteen years." Poppy then fed James a headache potion and he felt enormously better.

"Haven't had proper healing in years," James muttered tiredly. Dumbledore and Pomfrey gave him questioning looks.

"He's been in muggle care since the incident," Snape informed them. "A muggle hospital where they keep mental cases."

"How much of his memory was he missing when living with the muggles?" Dumbledore looked a touch worried about the Statute of Secrecy being breached.

"I didn't remember a damn thing," James muttered. "Well, except my name. Just my name." He then promptly fell asleep.

"Where will he stay?" Severus asked once he was confident the stag animagus couldn't hear him.

"Are you concerned about him, Severus?" The headmaster's eyes twinkled as if he already knew the answer.''

"What does it matter if I'm concerned or not?" Snape asked dejectedly.

"I know what you two shared," Dumbledore replied.

"That's what set off the headache," Snape replied. "He remembered everything about me and was overwhelmed by the sheer mass of memories. Just think what would happen if he saw Black."

"But he won't," Dumbledore replied sadly. Then, he rubbed his hands together. "Tell me, where is this muggle facility. I need to make sure James is not missed."

"Welcome to Saint Luke's! How may I help you?" A bottle blonde nurse greeted the two wizards (she didn't know they were wizards) in front of her.

"I'm here to inquire after one James Potter," Dumbledore replied.

"I'm sorry, he's at work right now," the girl replied sadly.

"I'm right here, Cindy," James said and entered the building. "Professor! Good to see you!" James shook hands jovially with Dumbledore.

"Who are these men, James?" Cindy asked and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Snape bristled with jealousy when he realized she was flirting with him.

"The one with the beard is Professor Dumbledore and the one in all black is Severus Snape." James smiled.

"Has your memory come back?" Another nurse asked as she came in.

"Yep!" James replied.

Then how do you know these men?" the woman tested him. Severus and I went to school together and Dumbledore was one of our Professors," James replied with ease.

"Your birthday?"

"March 27, 1960," James replied automatically.

"We're here, ma'am, to take him into our custody. We feel that he'd be better off remembering everything by being around people and places from his past," Dumbledore put in smoothly.

"I'll need to see his papers," the woman replied.

"Papers?" James and Severus asked in tandem and they shot annoyed looks at each other.

"Birth records, health care, that sort of thing," Cindy replied as if it was the only thing she was good at. "Do you want me to get our records, Meg?" When the other nurse, presumably Meg, nodded, Cindy got up and went to a small office behind the desk.

Dumbledore, who was wearing his robes, reached into his breast pocket and pulled out James' information. Severus, James noted, looked quite odd in muggle clothing. The Potions Master was wearing a black button up shirt and black trousers. Everything about him was, as usual, black.

"Interesting clothing," Meg remarked to Dumbledore. James was shifting restlessly hoping this would be over soon and that he could get his things and say goodbye to his friends here. Severus, who couldn't stand the fidgeting, placed a hand on James arm to still him. Meg noticed, despite the lack of fidgeting after Severus had calmed him, that James was restless.

"James, why don't you go gather your things. From what I can see, everything here looks legitimate." Meg smiled at James who nodded and went off to gather his things and tell his friends good bye.

After he was out of earshot, Meg decided to comment on the documents. "There are a few inconsistencies in our information. For one, James has never mentioned a spouse or child of any kind yet you have significant proof that he was married to one Lily Evans and is father to one Harry Potter. Others include his birth date and many more. I suppose it's to be expected considering he knew so little of himself and he has such a common name." The nurse sifted through the information and Cindy came back.

"Here ya go!" Severus noticed that she had a distinctly American accent. "Our records on James Potter!" She smiled a big, over-white smile. Severus took the files and shuffled through them.

"You can keep those files; they're just a copy," Meg commented and Cindy nodded.

"I'm ready to go!" James had a broad smile on his face. There was a crowd behind him that was waving him off.

"Can't go anywhere without being the center of attention?" Severus sneered.

"I vaguely recall someone who was more of an attention hog than me," James said as he pondered the matter.

"Come along," Snape just said and ushered James along.

"You're treating me like a little kid," James scowled.

"Severus has been teaching too long," Dumbledore remarked with a twinkle in his eye. "Now, we're going to St. Mungo's to see a memory specialist.

James was starting to realize why he'd always felt anxious at St. Luke's. James hated hospitals. They were so sterile and unfeeling. Even St. Luke's, where people lived, was still too sterile for his liking. He remembered being at St. Mungo's when he broke his arm on his broom when he was 9 and being in the Hospital Wing more times than he could count and suddenly he saw the red-haired girl giving birth to the baby he recognized.

"You know, most hospitals are sterile but the Hospital Wing has always felt homey," James remarked good naturedly into the silence the three wizards had fallen into.

"Your son would agree to that," Severus remarked sneering.

"I got a bunch of memories again. Not so many this time though," James informed the other two.

"How is your head, James?" Dumbledore asked.

"Fine."

"What did you remember?" Snape inquired casually.

"Just the two times I've ever been to St. Mungo's plus all the times I was in the Hospital Wing at school." James looked over at Severus.

"I'm assuming one of the times you went to St. Mungo's was your son's birth. What was the other?" Snape looked concerned.

"When I was 9 and broke my arm," James replied. Severus nodded to signify that he'd heard.

"I think it's best if you don't tell him what to remember but let him figure it out on his own," the healer said and stared at her medical chart. "Also, you ought to figure out what the catalyst for his memories is. From what you told me, I think that the severe headaches should abate as he regains more and more memories as there will be less to add. One last thing is that the cause of the headaches is just that his mind is so unused to having memories that having so many return all at once can be overwhelming."

"Any ideas on how long it'll take until they're all back?" James asked. He hated being treated like he wasn't there; it made him feel like a little kid. He was 36 years old for Merlin's sake!

"It all depends," the healer replied. "As long as Poppy's there you needn't worry about the headaches," she assured him. "That woman works miracles."

"I've a detention with a Hufflepuff," Severus said as they stood in the entrance. He then apparated away. James and Dumbledore followed suit. Soon, the two were back in the Headmaster's office.

"Unfortunately, the only lodgings available happen to be down in the dungeons; right next to Severus' rooms, actually," Dumbledore said but he didn't look like it was unfortunate. "I'll bring you there now, shall I?"'

They traveled, discretely so that the students wouldn't notice a 'Harry Potter look-a-like', to the dungeons. It wasn't difficult as it was nearing curfew. Soon they were in the dark, damp dungeons. James looked around and recalled that he had never like the dungeons; they were too far from the sun and fresh air.

"--just finished detention with Professor Snape. He's a slave driver!" The Hufflepuff that Severus had detention with was coming out of the classroom and mumbling to himself.

"He probably heard that; he's got freakishly good hearing," James muttered to that.

"I heard that James!" Snape said from the doorway of his classroom.

"Hide me! He's got the glowering look aimed right at me!" James ducked childishly behind the second year Hufflepuff (who was quite tiny for his age).

"James Potter, you are a grown man; stop hiding behind children," came the reprimanding voice of Professor McGonagall.

"Not her too!" James moaned.

"Go on, Robert. It wouldn't do to miss curfew," McGonagall encouraged the boy who, upon this encouragement, sprinted off to his common room.

"Lovely to see you again, Professor," James smiled a winning smile and hoped that McGonagall would fall for it as she had all those years ago when he was still in school.

"You oughtn't scare second years like that," she remarked. "Have you and Severus fought since your return?" It stood to reason that she didn't understand the complex relationship between the two men. Perhaps they'd been more secretive than they thought.

"Not once, Minerva," Snape replied from his doorway.

"Though we can if you'd like," James smiled mischievously. There was something about the castle that made him want to wreak havoc and other such things that would have gotten him detention were he a student.

"Any particular reason you came down here, Minerva," Snape prompted.

"It seems you've given one of my students a most unjust series of detentions," she replied uninterestedly.

"And which student claims this?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Potter," she replied.

"Wait, aren't I Mr. Potter?" James wondered aloud.

"Your son, James," Severus remarked off-handedly. "He does deserve the detentions, Minerva. He only finds them unjust because he's genetically predisposed to despise me."

"And I'll bet you do nothing to stop something like that," James smirked at Severus. Severus didn't indicate that he'd heard the statement.

"It isn't that you hold a grudge against his father? You know, Severus, I can't help but think you give the boy an awful lot of detentions."

"He's a troublemaker. I expect rules to be upheld in my classroom." Snape crossed his arms and James could see McGonagall pursing her lips in anger.

"What'd he do, Severus?" James asked trying to solve the matter.

"He deliberately went against my ruling in class and was being stubborn and insolent." Snape just stood there like a wall.

"Professor, I'd say that Snape is set on this one; there'll be no changing his mind." James gave her a small smile. She nodded curtly and left.

"You needn't have defended me," Severus remarked as he went to turn back into his classroom.

"What's my son like? What's his name?" James looked at Severus with pleading eyes. Snape motioned for the other to follow him.

The two sat down in Snape's office and sat in silence for a moment. Then, Snape took a large breath, cleared his throat and started. "His name is Harry James Potter. He's sixteen years old and in his sixth year. Friends with Hermione Granger, a muggleborn, and Ron Weasley, he was placed in Gryffindor. He's foolhardy and takes matters into his own hands. He's reckless and likes to play the hero. He's the Boy Who Lived in some circles because Lily placed protection on him and he brought the Dark Lord's first downfall."

"First downfall?" James looked perplexed.

"He's working on his second as we speak," Severus replied in a tone that was not to be questioned.

"Does he prank?" James smiled broadly.

"He's too busy trying to save the world," Snape replied dryly.

"Sev," James looked at the other man beseechingly. The Potions Master in question saw where this was going.

"I really must grade these papers," Severus remarked. His voice betrayed a hint of nervousness.

"If you really don't want to talk about it, we wont," James sighed. "I'd like to meet my son though."

"He has detention with me tomorrow night," Severus remarked.

"Thanks." James walked back to the rooms he was staying in. He looked around the place a bit. There was a small kitchen that was set up so he could cook his favorite muggle dishes or just firecall the elves to get his food. It had a small, round table with room enough for, at most, five people. He even had a fridge which he found odd but pleasing.

Next, he explored the sitting room. There was a fireplace with which he could Floo the kitchens or, really, anyone he wanted. There was a small couch that looked comfortable enough and a chair as well. They were placed around a rectangular coffee table where there was the day's _Daily Prophet_. James realized he ought to look at that later.

After that, he went down the small hallway and came to two doors. One, he realized upon entrance, was a bathroom. The shelves were stocked with all the imaginable bathroom necessities you could imagine. James noticed that there was no less than five toothbrushes and seven tubes of toothpaste of the best known muggle and wizarding brands.

The last door led to his bedroom. It was sparsely furnished. There was a large bed with plain bedding and an even more plain nightstand next to it. On the nightstand was a standard wizarding alarm clock. Across the room there was a desk with a wireless set on it and a bookshelf. The bookshelf had a couple shelves full of books but the rest were left empty for James to fill. He had hardly any possessions, however, because he had been living in an asylum. You have to monitor what you let crazy people near; especially the ones who like killing things.

James was just about to settle down into the chair and read the paper when there was a knock on what he considered the 'front door'. It was the door he'd entered the rooms through and where, he expected, most of his visitors would come by.

He opened the door to find none other than Severus Snape looming (because that's just what Snape's presence is like) there. "Well, Mr. Snape, how may I help you?" James smirked at the thoughts running through his head. It may have been 15 years since he knew who he was but he was still the same as ever.

"I was told you would be staying down here," the taller, more menacing man remarked. "I wanted to see how you were getting along."

"Well, I'll be the first one to admit that the dungeons aren't my first choice of residence but it's less sterile than St. Luke's. It's nice to be out of there but I think I'll miss it." James smiled ruefully.

"You don't belong there," Snape said with finality. That didn't stop James from pushing the matter.

"Do I belong here though? The wizarding world has done fine with out me these fifteen years." James leanded against the doorframe. "Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't gotten my memories back." There was a loud sigh heard from the younger man as he leaned his forehead against the doorframe.

"From what I gather," Severus started as if he didn't particularly like the matter, "Harry needs you. I think, in a way none of us knew possible, we all need you." Snape's words hit home with James. The latter stood up straighter (though most of him was still leaning against the doorframe) and looked straight at the other man.

"Even you?" In that moment, Snape saw in James the boy he'd once been. He could see the eleven-year-old who was secretly afraid of the sorting; he saw the boy who'd needed the attention all those pranks had brought him; he saw the boy who had needed his friends, needed Sirius, Remus and Peter, just as they had needed him.

"I did say everyone, didn't I?" Severus fulfilled the James' need for that sort of acceptance and recognition. Severus and James both knew that the former wouldn't answer the question any more blatantly than that; it was just his nature. "I shall visit tomorrow during me free periods." And then, in his usual, swooping manner that was vaguely reminiscent of a bat (although much more graceful), Severus Snape, Hogwarts Potions Master, departed leaving a very confused James.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Right, so I'm just getting used to this format. Sorry for any issue you have with it. To answer one of the reviews I got, yes, this IS going to be James/Sevy and, yes, that DOES mean some lovely slash… except it will all be innocent and cute. Oh, the other pairing you're allowed to know right now is Sirius/Remus. I've got all the main pairings set up so, if you really want, you can guess. Also, there will be some mild language so if that offends anyone… well, if ANY of this offends anyone, I'd love to hear! I'd love to hear if you think ANYTHING about this story. Heck, if you don't think anything about this story I'd love to hear too! I'd just love to hear from you lovelies! Oh, and P.S., I realize the ending is crap. It's the best I could do. OH, one last thing before I go, I know the first chapter was confusing, my bestest friend told me so. It should get less confusing as it goes. Well, except the relationships. Those will always be confusing because the characters themselves are confused.

Disclaimer: Do you REALLY think I own it? Trust me, if I did, my keyboard wouldn't be at such an awkward angle that I get calluses on my wrists… I would PAY someone to position my keyboard perfectly.

James and Severus sat across the table from one another. They sat silently, eyes wandering, and afraid to make eye contact.

"So," James started, unable to bear the silence anymore. "I'm missing a huge chunk of my memories. Like my wife. I don't remember who she is. Nor do I remember the people in my school memories. Not that I have many school memories that don't include you, currently." James thought it vital to share this information.

"I realize that; I did use Legilmency on you yesterday," Severus snapped.

"Well you needn't snap at me!" James cried. "It's not like I've blown up a cauldron lately."

"Well four of my fifth year Hufflepuffs did; needless to say they have detention." Snape looked tense and James decided he wanted to ease the tension. The thoughts of his inner teenager filled his mind but he quickly shut them out.

"Do you enjoy giving out detentions?" James inquired casually. May as well keep him talking. James always felt less stressed when he could talk and vent and other such things.

"No." James could see the tension in Severus' body even through the layers of black clothing the man hid under.

"Then why do you give out so much?" James smirked. He thought he could delve into Snape's nature and figure important things out while he was questioning Snape.

"Why are you so undeterred by the fact that I used Legilmency on you?" Snape locked his eyes on James' for a moment. Severus' were burning with anger and frustration. James couldn't, for the life of him, figure out who was the cause of these emotions.

"Well, I know how few memories I have; I know everything that they contain; and most importantly, I don't mind sharing them with you. As most of them are about you, I doubt there's much there that you couldn't find in your own head." James smiled broadly.

"You're acting too companionably towards me. Even back then we could hardly stop fighting." The time that Severus had alluded to James knew quite well. He had frequented those memories most of all.

"Well, let's just say that nine years is a long time to go without memories of the people I care about. I'm not about to just act like time hasn't passed. We're older now and I'm afraid to be rejected. Merlin knows I had enough of THAT in my youth to last a lifetime." James didn't know what rejection he was talking about; he just knew that there had been a lot of rejection during his school days.

"You're making excuses or being far too honest." Snape just looked off towards the refrigerator with a vaguely confused look.

"It's called a refrigerator," James explained. "It keeps food cold so that it doesn't go bad." There wasn't much in there save for a carton of eggs, a jug of milk and butter for his toast. He had yet to check the freezer.

"You've grown inherently more mugglish since then," Severus remarked with slight distaste.

"You just made up a word!" James let out a small laugh. "That just shows how tired you are. Haven't you been getting enough sleep lately?"

"There's no chance of that," Snape muttered bitterly. He unconsciously clenched his left hand into a fist.

"Are you still visiting HIM?" James asked none too subtly. He looked upset at the very thought.

"I'm spying now just as I was before your demise, or rather, what was thought of as your demise." Snape just glared at the fridge even more.

"What happened, you know, while I was dead?" James smirked as Severus' head whipped to look at him upon hearing the word dead.

"What did you just say?"

"What happened when I was dead? I figure I was basically dead because even though I was physically alive, the real, true James Potter didn't exist." James just shrugged. It had sounded a lot better in his head. "You know how people can feel dead inside sometimes? It's similar to that except, well, I just didn't know who I was so James Potter couldn't BE. I guess you either understand it or you don't." He shrugged again.

"I suppose I get it." Severus turned his gaze back to the fridge. If looks could kill, the fridge would have burst into flames long ago. James mused that he would have to give his fridge a proper burial, were that to happen. The burial would be attended by all the most important people in James' life. That basically meant Dumbledore, Severus and his son who he didn't know.

"So, what happened?" James prompted.

"Well, the Dark Lord was slowed down considerably thanks to your son, I got a job here, Lupin taught Defense for a year, Black escaped from Azkaban, Black fell through the veil, your son participated in the Triwizard Tournament, the Dark Lord came back, the Chamber of Secrets was found and its monster slain, the Philosopher's stone was destroyed, the Dark Lord made it into the Ministry, and Ireland won the last Quidditch World Cup, in no particular order." James could distinctly see a hole being burnt into his fridge at this point.

"Who are Black and Lupin?" James asked. The names sounded vaguely familiar, as Harry's had when he'd heard it, but, just like his son's name, he couldn't place them for the life of him.

"I'm not supposed to tell you what to remember; you're supposed to remember it yourself," Snape sighed. "I should go. I have a class in ten minutes." Snape stood up brusquely and let himself out.

"Welcome to detention, Mr. Potter." Snape, at least to Harry's eyes, looked less malicious than usual. Harry wondered to himself if this was one of his Professor's good moods.

"Dear Merlin, Sev, you didn't tell me he was my clone!" James ruffled his hair nervously. It was then that Harry noticed his father standing next to the Professor's desk.

"No way," Harry breathed. His mouth was agape. It was one of those moments when you actually believed that jaws didn't only touch the floor in cartoons.

"Mr. Potter, your father, it appears, has lost his memories and, for the last fifteen years, has lived in muggle care because of this." James noticed how terse Severus was with the teen.

"No way in hell," Harry breathed. He was in a state of shock and had yet to remove his jaw from the floor for purposes other than to voice his disbelief.

"Language, Mr. Potter," Snape chided. It wasn't very nice either. In fact, James wondered whether the two had any respect for each other at all.

"He's scary when he's in teacher mode," James whispered conspiratorially to his son. He figured that Severus would hear him too, with that freakish hearing of his.

"I've never seen him any other way," Harry remarked bitterly.

"He's really just a big softy," James replied. Snape scowled at this. "Afraid to lose the precious reputation you've built up, Sev?"

"Why are you two so nice to each other?" Harry asked dumbfounded.

"Your father doesn't appreciate people hating him, apparently." James scowled at the tone Severus was using.

"How long?"

"Please ask a clearer question, Mr. Potter." James scowled even further.

"Acting like a bloody business transaction," James muttered angrily.

"You've been told before, James, it's one of my quirks." Snape's face softened when he addressed the older Potter.

"Don't you two hate each other?" Harry looked perplexed.

"It's complex," James ruffled his hair sheepishly.

"As interesting as this line of conversation is, it can wait until Mr. Potter has finished his punishment for tonight." Snape turned to Harry. "You will be rebrewing yesterday's potion."

"Rebrews are the worst," James moaned and Harry seemingly agreed with all the dark mutterings come from him.

"James, you're not helping," Severus said distractedly. The Potions Master had gone to his desk and was carefully grading essays.

"Professor!" A blonde Slytherin prefect entered the classroom; she looked as if she had run there.

"Miss Morrow, I'm in the middle of supervising a detention." Snape didn't even look up from his work.

"But Draco's giving out unfair detentions again!" The girl stomped her foot dramatically.

"He's a prefect and I trust his judgement." Snape marked something on the paper he was grading.

"I don't! And he's pulling rules out of-- well, he's making them up as he goes!" The girl looked almost distraught.

"Nice save, Rini," Harry smiled a little.

"Mr. Potter, pay attention to your potion," Snape ordered and immediately Harry went back to readying ingredients.

"Morrow, Morrow, where have I heard that name before?" James mused aloud.

"Influential pureblood family on par with the Malfoys. Most of the family lives in the States or in Japan, don't ask why. We remain unaffiliated with either side in this war due to wanting to keep standing with both and because most of us are way out of the way. Seriously, think about some Japanese wizard coming over and saying, 'Hey! My cousin's father signed me up for this war, where do I go?' It would be rather difficult because you'd hear Japanese and not what they were actually saying!" Rini then noticed who she was talking to. "Oh. My. Dog."

"What is the matter now, Miss Morrow?" Snape looked a little tired at the girl's antics.

"Aren't you Mr. Harry's Dad and aren't you supposed to be dead?" The girl, despite looking to be at least in her fifth year, was incredibly innocent looking as well. It didn't help that, for the most part, she acted like a five-year-old. When she questioned people, as she had just now, she titled her head to the side just like an animal would. She had extreme emotions that included hyper, happy, sad, upset and philosophical. Of course, at that particular moment, no one in the room really understood all that except maybe Harry.

"It's a long story involving a coma, amnesia and a loony bin," James replied sadly.

"Like a soap opera!" she cried happily.

"Professor, whatever Ariana has said about me in the last five minutes is a complete and utter lie," Draco Malfoy promptly made his entrance into the Potions room. It was a grand entrance fitting any Malfoy and especially this one.

"That's the real lie," Ariana nodded smartly. "And why are you calling me by my full name? Are you upset with me, Mr. Ferret?" She had her arms akimbo and looked like a scolding child.

"Shut up Rini, I'm trying to plead my case," Draco said as if the rest of the room couldn't hear him. Harry noted that the Malfoy was acting oddly out of character.

"If you two would please take your childish antics out my classroom," Snape remarked. "I am trying to host a detention."

"He says it like it's a party, Mr. Harry's Dad," Rini remarked to James. James nodded solemnly.

"Sev's a real stick in the mud."

"Oi, Scarface, having fun?" Draco sneered at Harry. Harry resisted the urge to throw the knife he was chopping the beetle corpses with at the pureblood.

"Of course he's having fun, silly silly!" Rini exclaimed dramatically. "He gets to chop up dead things until they're unrecognizable!"

"You are a freak," Draco remarked.

"I like this kid," James smiled broadly.

"Probably because she's a female Black minus the constant flirting," Snape muttered at the work he was grading.

"Who's Black again?" James asked.

"I'm not allowed to tell you!" Severus shouted angrily. He then got up from his work (never a good sign) and ushered the two Slytherins out because they had no reason to be there and James was sent to his rooms to wait for Harry to finish his detention.

"But I want to talk to my son!" James cried like a child.

"I shall bring him by after his detention is finished!" Snape then loudly slammed his classroom door in James' face.

"Glad to hear things are almost back to normal with you two." James started. He then turned slowly to face Dumbledore whose eyes, even in the low lighting of the dungeons, were twinkling.

"What do you mean almost?" James questioned. As he didn't know what was normal between the two of them he had to ask; he felt pathetic.

"I've a visitor for you tomorrow. He wanted to come sooner but it's so close to the full moon that he couldn't." Dumbledore completely ignored his question. "You're to come to my office at noon, when everyone will be at lunch. I trust you won't have trouble finding my office." The eyes twinkled more than ever and James could see the meddling old man behind them.

"It was one of the first of my memories to come back," James smiled. He remembered vaguely getting into lots of trouble when he was in school. The headmaster took his leave and James headed to his rooms to wait.

"Hey Dad," Harry said, the words obviously unfamiliar to his tongue. "Professor Snape told me what I can and can't really say to you." Harry was fidgeting nervously.

"How's your Mum?" James asked curiously. "I don't really remember her except what she looks like but I'd still like to know."

"She died when you were supposed to have done so as well," Harry said as if that too was odd to him. He was quite unused to talking about his parents at all.

"That's a shame," James remarked sadly. "So you grew up an orphan?"

"Yeah, I live with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon." Harry looked in obvious discomfort when talking about that. "They're on Mum's side," he added as an afterthought. James just nodded.

"Look, I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. Admittedly, I didn't know anything about you until Severus told me about you last night. I can't remember much of anything." James smiled apologetically. "I guess I can remember little bits about you as a baby. But I have to sort of put together you with those images."

"That's okay," Harry smiled sadly at his father. "It's weird because I only know you from pictures and stories." Harry pointed left out that particular memory that he hadn't wanted to step into in the first place. Snape, who was sitting at the kitchen table while the two Potters talked in the sitting room, noticed this. "I guess you're a little different than I imagined but I had a really two-dimensional view of you."

"Well, I only have a two-dimensional view of myself right now." James smiled slightly at the ridiculous idea he'd just gotten. "Maybe we can both get to know me together."

"You, James Potter, are ridiculously cheesy," Snape remarked in a dry tone.

"I do try, Sev," James smiled over at him.

"I'm still confused as to why you two aren't trying to hex each other," Harry said to no one in particular.

"Well, for one, I have no idea where my wand has gotten to these past, fifteen did you say, years." James shrugged. "I was only at St. Luke's for nine."

"What happened the other six?" Harry asked. He'd heard of St. Luke's from the Dursleys; it was a high class loony bin where Aunt Marge had gone to see a therapist after the whole incident where she got blown up.

"Well, I was told by the nurses that I was in a coma. No one expected me to wake up and, on the day that they were going to cut me off life support, I suddenly woke up. They said it was my subconscious but now I think it was a combination of that and my magic. As soon as I woke up they started asking me questions like my name and where I lived and all sorts of things and all I could say was 'My name is James Potter and that's all I know'. Needless to say, none of the doctors or anything were very happy with me." This was the first time Severus had heard the story too. He could even be seen scowling as he heard it. Silly muggles couldn't do any mind scanning charms, of course, but honestly, the way he said it they were badgering information out of James. That made Severus angry.

"Mr. Potter, curfew was approximately an hour ago. You ought to leave," Snape said pointedly after listening to the two Potters chatter incessantly about themselves.

"Yes sir." Harry turned to James as he was getting up. "Do you want me to bring the photo album when I come tomorrow before detention? Maybe it'll help you remember." James nodded enthusiastically and, within a few moments, James was left alone again. He sighed and decided to go to bed.

"Professor, I know you'll probably tell me I'm just being nosy or something like that but why didn't you and Dad fight like you're supposed to?" Harry watched his teacher for some reaction.

"I wasn't under the impression that I was supposed to do anything with James Potter," Snape replied in his usual dry tones.

"Well, in the memory that I wish I'd never seen, you two didn't exactly look too happy to be in each other's company but tonight it was almost as if you and him cared for each other. You should've seen the way the two of you look at each other." The last part was Harry thinking out loud. It received him a sharp look from the professor.

"I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about," Snape lied. He knew that he looked obviously caring about James. It bothered him that his feelings were so obvious even to a sixteen-year-old boy. Sixteen-year-old boys were supposed to be oblivious to such things! The two walked the rest of the way in silence.

James woke up feeling eager about who his visitor would be. He was anxious as well, though, because he had a feeling he wouldn't remember them. He didn't want to disappoint people but he couldn't help that his memory had abandoned him. Harry didn't seem to mind much and said that there really wasn't much of him to remember anyways. James just shook his head and told him that a father should remember all he could about his son. It made him sound a lot more grown up than he felt.

James paced his rooms for most of the morning. He took a small break from pacing to eat breakfast and glance through the paper. The news was dismal, but nothing else could be expected during a war. He then glanced nervously at the clock on the mantle every five or so minutes, cursing it for moving too fast and too slow all at once.

Finally it was a quarter to twelve and James deemed it acceptable to trek up to the headmaster's office. It had been a long time since he'd navigated the corridors of Hogwarts and James decided that even if he was early it was better than getting lost and arriving twenty minutes late.

"Mr. Potter!" Nearly-headless Nick cried jovially when he emerged into the Entrance Hall. "It's been a long time since I've see you! Is Harry your son? He's a fine Gryffindor, to be sure!"

"Ah, Sir Nicholas!" James looked upon the entrance of an old friend. "It's good to see you again! And to think, my son is a proper Gryffindor. A very good thing to hear, indeed!" The two went on in this manner for another minute or so when James politely excused himself and continued to make his way up to the headmaster's office.

Once he reached the gargoyle he looked at it and sighed. Dumbledore had forgotten to tell him the password. As luck would have it, however, Professor McGonagall was on her way down to lunch and spotted James staring at the gargoyle sadly.

"James Potter, what business do you have with the headmaster?" Minerva scowled in the direction of the former troublemaker.

"There's a visitor up there for me and I don't know the password!" he wailed dramatically. McGonagall quickly told it to him ("Bit o' Honey!) and he headed up with a quick expression of his gratitude.

"Welcome, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore was sitting at his desk and it appeared to be deep in thought. "Your visitor should be here in a moment. I've got a headache potion handy in case it's needed." James sat down in his regular chair and waited patiently.

A few moments later the fire flared up and out stepped a graying werewolf. "James," Remus could hardly believe his eyes. Dumbledore had told him but seeing really was believing. Upon hearing his name, James looked up and looked into the golden brown eyes of one of his best friends. Suddenly, a flood of memories entered his mind and he was obviously overwhelmed. His entire school career had been remembered and he was left clutching his head and whining pathetically.

"James, are you okay?" Remus asked motherly. He always had acted like the mother hen of the group. Dumbledore got up and quickly fed James the potion that had been on his desk. James' headache subsided but drowsiness came along with it.

"Albus, I brought a Pepper-up potion just in case," Severus entered the office to find James slumped tiredly in a chair. He didn't need to be told to give James the potion and immediately did so.

"That was intense," James muttered, rubbing his head in memory of the pain.

"How's your head?" Severus asked softly.

"Fine now. Thanks," James smiled brightly. He still looked a little tired but the Pepper-up potion had done its job and he wasn't nearly as tired as he could be.

"James!" And then, James was bombarded by a hug from the werewolf. Dumbledore noted the jealous look on Severus' face.

"Hey Moony," James shot his old friend a smile. "Long time, no see."

"You haven't changed a bit, James," Remus said it and meant it.

"I'm getting old and fat," James waved off the comments. No one in the room would have ever said James was getting fat. He was probably just as fit as he had been in the days when he'd been the star chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. It could have had something to do with his work in construction. His job had been as a contractor during his stay at St. Luke's (he had to make money somehow).

"You lie," Remus replied and hugged his friend once more.

"How are you and Padfoot? Why isn't he here with you? Are you two in a fight? I saw something about him a couple years ago in the papers that said he was a dangerous criminal. Did he go to Azkaban? What for?" These questions and numerous others about Sirius spilled out of James' mouth.

"Everyone thought he betrayed you and killed 12 muggles so he was sent to Azkaban. He snuck out and he was innocent. But he fell through the veil in June, Prongs." Remus looked at James apologetically. James' face darkened for a moment.

"How'd he fall?" James looked up from the floor briefly to look hopefully at Remus and Severus couldn't help but think that James really was exactly the same as he'd been fifteen, even twenty, years ago.

"A duel at the Ministry with death eaters," Snape put in simply.

"He was dueling his favorite cousin: Bellabitch," Remus used the name Sirius had loved to call her.

"She's going down," James decided then and there.

"Let the mangy mutt be possessive of his mate," Severus said dryly.

"Moony, do you want to kill Bellabitch?" James asked seriously.

"What do you think?" The werewolf snarled.

"Can I help rip her limb from limb?" James asked.

"You can hold her down," Remus said in a growl.

"Are you two going to plan who gets the legs next?" Snape asked sneering. He vaguely wondered if James would rip someone apart for killing him.

"Moony has just given me the specific pleasure of watching her torturous death; that's the best I could hope for from someone with his brand of Furry Little Problems." Remus smiled at hearing that phrase again.

"I assure you, Mr. Potter, that my office is well warded and no one will mind if you talk about his condition out loud." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"You make it sound like he has a terminal illness!" James then cracked up.

"Most of the students already know, James," Remus said in an attempt to calm him down.

"Why? Are they making the register public knowledge now?" James looked almost upset about that.

"A little slip of the tongue on my part, I'm afraid," Severus said with penitence. Who knew if it was real or for James' sake though.

"It's quite all right, Severus. I've heartily forgiven you," Remus replied in a very Remus-y way.

"It's heartening to know," Severus replied, with how much sarcasm no one could be quite sure.

"Well I am a hart!" James decided to make a pun of it all. Dumbledore, for his part, chuckled. Remus rolled his eyes at James' antics and Severus scowled at his immature sense of humor.

"I think that on Saturday we should take a little trip through Hogsmeade. It's been a long time since we've been able to chat, James," Remus smiled brightly.

"That's a great idea Moony!" James cried happily. Severus got the image of two fangirls holding hands and jumping having just met the object of their adoration.

"Why don't you come with us too, Severus?" Remus extended the invitation to Snape.

"Yeah Sev! We could have bunches of fun!"

"It's not a terrible idea," Severus consented. After that James and Remus made plans while Snape just nodded dully whenever one would ask him a question. Soon, Remus had to go and Severus had a class to get to. James walked most of the way with Severus and chatted to him about anything and everything that came to his mind.

The plans were set and James was left to sit in his rooms doing nothing for the rest of the day.

AN: Thanks bunches for the three reviews I got on Chapter 1. Um, just a bit of posting info. I don't post very regularly. The best you can hope is every other day… and that's when I'm not being lazy. Um, Chapter Three, which I've yet to finish, will be out on Friday at the earliest cuz I have to send it to my darling Consciene to edit. She's really amazing. Also, I've been really lately due to my new obsession with 21 Jump Street. I am SUCH a freak.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Welcome to Chapter 3! Yeah, it's kind of a weird chapter but there's some important stuff in it. Um, OH! Christopher, the Chresto-whatsit is Christopher Chant the Chrestomanci for anyone who reads Diana Wynne Jones. Yeah, I adore her and Christopher is all hers. It's been awhile, however, since I've read the Chrestomanci books so I apologize if he's OOC. Of course, you'll probably say that most of my characters are OOC. It's just that I can't write them any other way. I apologize. I got ONE review for the last chapter. That makes a total of four smiles hugely. All reviews appreciated immensely. Um, next chapter has bunches of filler to go with the little bits of important stuff. Lastly, anyone who can guess a ship gets their choice of a)me telling them another secret ship or b) getting to give a specific character (mostly of my choice considering how many ships I have already set up) a ship. Yep, I'm amazing. This goes to my amazing Conscience (yes, that's what we call her. If you want to read her stories which are M-azing, go to my favorite authors. She's the only one there, thus far) for going through this because goodness knows I type faster than I think, to everyone who has ever reviewed or favorited or subscribe/alerted this story. Oh, and just for the record, I'm about half done with Chapter 4 but I have to send it to Con to beta when I finish and she's got a bunch of Halloween parties this weekend so it might take awhile to get out.

**Disclaimer:**** I don't think I own this and I'm not willing to pay for the law suit to find out. Yes, I'm cheap, so sue me. Actually, don't. Like I said, I'm cheap. The only thing I own is Ariana Morrow and even she's a little hard to control. She's actually applying for her own emancipation from me. Apparently I'm a bad creator. Um, if it doesn't belong to J.K. Rowling or Diana Wynne Jones or isn't blatantly mine then I don't know what to tell you…**

It was the longest Friday of James Potter's life. Okay, that was a lie. There had been that one Friday where he was counting the seconds until the Most Giant Prank Ever, or that's what Sirius had called it. It was one of those days where he was anticipating something extremely fun and he was extremely bored all day. That year they'd had double History of Magic and double Potions not to mention he took Divination. It was a long Friday to begin with.

James couldn't help but pace around his sitting room, for there was nothing to do. Dumbledore had assured him that the fact that he was living was going to be publicized soon. That way he could walk around Hogwarts all he wanted. Of course, there isn't much to do around the castle unless you're pranking or in class, and neither was much fun with out Padfoot.

The night before, Severus had stopped by after Harry's detention (Harry had come by before hand) and dropped off some possessions that had been salvaged from the night of Voldemort's almost-demise. Among the items were his wand and his favorite broom. Of course, the broom was now outdated but his wand, well, that was a different matter entirely.

James was just going over basic spells in his head-- he was shocked at how many he remembered-- when someone cleared their throat in the direction of the fireplace. James looked over and saw Minerva McGonagall's head there. "Mr. Potter, would you be so kind as to assist me in teaching today?"

"Sure, Professor," James smiled brightly. He noted that he was in muggle dress still. He really hadn't had the means to buy himself new robes until last night (another of the items salvaged was his spare Gringotts key) and that had left him no time at all to get new robes. He noted that he should do so when in Hogsmeade the next day.

Once he made it to the Transfiguration classroom, James realized that McGonagall had a free period fairly quickly. Minerva led him into her office where they went over her lesson plan and James tested his remembrance of the spells. He would be helping with a variety of classes including first year Ravenclaws and the sixth year class. James had been informed, by Harry and Snape, that his son was one of those sixth years.

"So, to be honest, you'll just walk around the room with me and provide help where it's needed. Understood?" McGonagall sent him one of those looks that said 'If you mess this up I WILL have your head.'

"Understood." James nodded to further prove his point and then they both heard the sound of students filing in to learn.

"Ah, first years. It's time to make them jump a little with my animagus form. You can join in too." The Transfiguration professor wore a large grin on her face. James raised an eyebrow in a calculated manner. "Oh, Black and Lupin told the Order all about your talents, don't worry."

"Oh," was all James could manage. McGonagall turned into her cat form and James decided to turn into his stag form. They left the office (it was a bit tricky but James managed) and stood by or on the professor's desk.

"Oh, such a pretty cat!" A girl cooed. She was a tiny thing and James wondered if he'd been nearly that small when he was eleven.

"Woah! That's such a cool deer!" All the kids in the room crowded around the animals. The bell rang and students rushed into their seats. A few lingered near the animals. McGonagall, James could tell, was taking attendance. He noticed a girl slip in late. She let out a sigh of relief and stopped sneaking when she noticed that the professor wasn't standing there as usual. McGonagall took that as an apt time to transform. James followed suit.

"Miss Waters, you are late," McGonagall said in her stern, carrying voice. The girl smiled sheepishly and muttered an apology. "I don't want to hear specifics. Just don't let it happen again." James recalled hearing that speech a few times early on in his first year. Of course, McGonagall was much harsher on her Gryffindors than on the other houses.

"Who's that man, Professor?" one of the Ravenclaw boys in the back called out. There were very few Ravenclaws who ever sat in the back due to their nature. Ravenclaws did love to learn.

"This is my assistant, Professor Potter. I want you treat him like you would any other professor." She gave the whole class her stern look and they all nodded fearfully. McGonagall then dove headfirst into the lesson. It didn't take too long to get to the spell demonstration.

"All right, class, I will show you how to perform the spell and then Professor Potter will show you again. Watch carefully." McGonagall turned the thread into a needle with ease. Her needle was tiny and precise. The tip was quite sharp and James could see that from where he was. The whole class let out mutters of astonishment.

"Professor, I'm still confused about the wand movement. It's so complex," a geeky looking little boy with what sounded like a perpetually stuffed nose and large, thick glasses, said.

"Professor Potter, could you show this young man the spell again?"

"It would be my pleasure, Professor McGonagall." James took his thread in his left hand and his wand in his right and prepared himself mentally. Then, he completed the wand movement with a great deal less flourishes than Professor McGonagall but it was precise and his needle was every bit as perfect as Minerva's.

"Does that make any more sense, Edward?" McGonagall looked at the boy.

"Woah!" the whole class cried in unison.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Edward asked amazed.

"Well, back in the day, Professor McGonagall taught me Transfiguration too," James smirked at them all. The Transfiguration Professor rolled her eyes. "Really kids, it's not that hard. If I can do it, you can too."

"Ahem," Snape cleared his throat loudly in the doorway. All the first years visibly shrunk back.

"Yes Severus?" Upon further inspection, to James' eyes, Snape looked a little rattled. Of course, having known the man so long he could tell when Snape was nervous.

"Ah, Minerva, I've had a slight problem with a potion and the only way to reverse it is with a spell. As you well know, I'm not very proficient in Transfiguration and I was wondering if you could assist me." Snape stood there and tried to be composed.

"I'll handle this one, Professor M," James shot her a smile.

"Are you sure that's prudent, Minerva?" Snape urged.

"I remember my Transfiguring skills just fine, Sev." James was trying his hardest to allay Severus' fears. Apparently it wasn't going too well.

"If you insist," Snape said harshly.

"Come along Sev. Let's not keep your darling student waiting," James placed a hand on Severus' back and led him out of the classroom. "So, what do I have to do?"

"You need to transfigure the student back to his original form, of course," Snape snapped.

"Right, you don't deal well with stress like this. I ought to remember things like that." James nodded as he was talking mostly to himself.

"What were you doing with Minerva anyways?" Snape seemed upset and maybe a touch jealous.

"Teaching, of course!" James cried easily. "If you'll recall, Transfiguration is my strong point."

"Yes, I recall." Snape sneered mercilessly.

"You know Sev, if I didn't know you were upset about your student's welfare I would probably point out that you're being incredibly rude to me." James held his nose in the air like the pompous git he was trying to be. Severus just continued scowling and led James down to the classroom.

"Woah, Harry, that guy looks like you!" A Hufflepuff remarked.

"Hey Mr. Harry's Dad!" Ariana Morrow remarked loudly. "How have you been? What are you doing here?"

"He's over there," Snape pointed towards a student with a pig's head. James walked over to the student, prepared himself, and used a reverse transfiguration spell on him. The spell worked perfectly and Vincent Crabbe was returned to normal.

"Happy, Sev?" James remarked before heading calmly for the door.

"Irrefutably," he replied in a dry tone. James smirked on his way out.

"Harry," Hermione whispered once James left. "Why were Professor Snape and your father getting along?" Harry had told his friends that his father wasn't dead. They had both taken the news very well (although Ron was rather in a rush. He'd had a date with some Ravenclaw in the Room of Requirement that night).

"I really don't know," Harry replied as he blinked in shock. It still surprised him that his father and the Potions Master could even stand to be in the same room together. Harry decided that there was evil afoot.

"Oi Scarface, your father looks more like a hero than you!" Malfoy jeered. The group of Slytherins around him, excluding Rini who was busy dancing to the music in her own head, laughed at this.

"Maybe he'd like the job more than I do," Harry retorted. This lost Gryffindor five points and so Harry decided to sulk and finish his potion like a good little boy.

"Harry, what's your dad doing in our Transfiguration class?" Ron asked when they stepped in and saw Professor McGonagall chatting with the elder Potter later that day.

"I dunno." Harry just went to his seat.

"Guess what, Harry!" His father bounced in excitement at his son's desk.

"What dad?" Harry feigned a smile. It wasn't that he was unhappy to see his dad; it was just that he was having a long day.

"Professor McG has decided to let me be her assistant! Isn't it cool?" James smiled broadly.

"That's great Dad," Harry agreed with his father because he thought it would be for the best. He was still getting used to having a parent and didn't think upsetting said parent would be a very good idea.

"Oh, tomorrow I'm going to Hogsmeade with Moony and Sev so we can catch up on Sunday or something," James added as an afterthought. Harry nodded with slight disappointment.

"What, the poor Boy-Who-Lived needs his Daddy," Draco teased as he walked by.

"What's your problem today, Malfoy?" Harry asked angrily.

"Oh nothing, Pothead." Draco just smirked and walked back to his seat.

"Bloody pompous arse," Ron mumbled and Harry silently agreed. Malfoy was ragging on him more than usual today. The funny thing was, it was little things and totally unimportant. They were comments that were only meant to bother and not cause outright rage like usual.

"HELLO MR. HARRY'S DAD!" Rini shouted across the classroom. "We sure are seeing a lot of you today," she noted. James shrugged. Other than that, classes that day were uneventful. James thought they were downright boring and slow. Honestly! Why couldn't his Friday go faster?

James stood staring at his closet. Well, it was more like glaring. Nothing seemed appropriate for going to Hogsmeade. It wasn't like it was a date so he didn't really understand why he was nervous. Honestly, he should just dress like he normally did. But he couldn't. He was nervous. Moony was going to be there but Severus would be as well.

Finally, James decided on plain trousers and a regular shirt. He decided he wasn't going to make it a big deal. He was just spending the day with two old friends. That was it. Nothing more, even if he wanted it to be different.

James heard a knock on his door as he was fixing his hair in the mirror. He hurried to get it and saw that Severus was standing just outside the door.

"What took you so long?" He questioned. "Preening?" He the sneered.

"Well, you know my hair." James stepped aside and let the other man in.

"We're just waiting for Lupin now," Snape remarked. "Unless, of course, you want to go preen again."

"No, I'm good." James remarked and flopped down on his sofa. "Come, sit!"

"I'm fine." Snape remained standing where he was.

"No you're not," James said but made no move to help Severus out of his predicament.

"Sorry I'm late!" Remus stepped out of the fireplace and brushed himself off. James stood up and they headed out.

"OOH! ZONKO'S!" James cried and ran happily into the prank shop. Remus and Severus reluctantly followed. James had the wizarding equivalent of a check card. It had arrived just that morning by owl from Gringotts. That was how he was spending money. He'd just been fitted for robes and, while he was waiting for the tailor to finish them he had dragged his friends to Zonko's.

"James, you're acting like a five year old," Severus drawled as he stood by casually. He was trying to act undeterred by James' energy or need to go to ridiculous places.

"We should go to the Three Broomsticks next," Remus offered happily. Remus was happy to be with one of his friends again.

"Naw, too crowded and Madame Rosemerta would have a fit if I showed up. Hog's Head is much better, especially since Aberforth knows I'm alive." James was looking interestedly at all the prank items.

"I agree with James," Severus said levelly.

"We could go to Madame Pudifoot's as well," Remus offered yet again.

"That place is for dates and girls," James remarked with a scowl. "I think the Hog's Head would be nice."

"I would actually prefer tea," Severus replied. "What about you, Lupin?" He was hoping that the werewolf would side with him.

"Tea sounds good to me."

"You've been outvoted, James," Severus said in a childish way.

"Fine," James said resignedly.

"I feel weird," James muttered irritably as he sat in a booth with the other two. "We're being eyed by everyone, man or woman, in here. Why do you have to be so damnably mysterious, Severus?" James was sulking in his corner.

"You're the one that's annoyingly attractive James," Severus remarked bitterly. He was sitting next to the sulking stag. Remus had a side all to himself.

"Lovely to hear you two boost MY confidence," Remus muttered angrily.

"You're upset 'cause of Padfoot. You should be mourning, anyways, Moony." James was glaring at the packets of sugar.

"You're not being coherent, James," Severus chided. Remus nodded.

"It's because I feel weird." James sighed in a dramatic way that was only to be rivaled by one Sirius Black.

"Hello Christopher," Dumbledore said without looking up from his paperwork. A man had just appeared in his office with another man by the collar.

"I believe this belongs to you," the man, presumably Christopher, remarked as he held up the tall, dark haired man whose collar he had.

"Actually, he belongs to a friend of mine who is currently in Hogsmeade. Lemon Drop?" Dumbledore held out his dish of candies to Christopher who shook his head.

"You can let me go now, you know," the dark haired man remarked. Christopher let go unexpectedly and the other man almost fell to the floor. He was tall and slight, as if something had eaten away at him for years and was just now being mended but not well. His hair was long and hung in his grey eyes that had grown dull with the years but were still not as dull as most.

"So, how did that happen? He should be dead. A lot of people who should be dead have been showing up lately." Dumbledore's bright blue eyes twinkled.

"Well, he says he fell through some veil and was wondering if he was in heaven or hell. Somehow, however, he managed to be put in my dimension. Of course, he was immediately brought to me. I've just now gotten around to returning him." Christopher waved a hand in an unconcerned manner.

"Busy times?" Dumbledore asked.

"Unfortunately. There's a lot going on and I'm training my successor. It's not the easiest." Christopher sank down into a chair.

"Oh, to be sure. We're in the middle of a war, you see, so I've got my hands full as well. I've been lucky to get this weekend to catch up on my paperwork. The past few have been spent at the Ministry, I'm afraid, helping out the new Minister and such." Dumbledore looked completely unaware that he was leaving his paperwork for the moment.

There was a knock on his office door. He called for them to come in. "Ah, I didn't know you had company, Albus," Severus remarked stepping in.

"Come in, come in. I'm sure Remus and James will be happy due to my company," Dumbledore smiled. The three came in and the three Marauders present all gasped.

"Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"Padfoot?" James asked back.

"Sirius?" Remus breathed.

"Moony! I missed you!" Sirius jumped up and hugged the werewolf tightly.

"It really is you, Pads," Remus said quietly.

"Now, is that really Prongs? He's supposed to be dead," Sirius said very seriously.

"I'm really me, Padfoot," James smirked at his best friend.

"Prove it," Sirius said like an indignant little kid.

"Your name is Sirius Ian Black. We first became friends on the train ride our first year. On that train ride I said, upon meeting her, that I was going to marry one Lily Evans one day. You said that you refused to get married because your mum would hate it. Then, one Peter Percival Pettigrew and one Remus John Lupin came in and became our friends as well. Oh, and Remus is the Forkinator." James ruffled his hair in thought. He wondered if Sirius would need any more than that.

"The Forkinator?" Christopher asked out loud. Severus looked beyond confused and even Dumbledore's eyes weren't twinkling with the usual foreknowledge.

"Okay, you're our Prongsie." Sirius smiled happily.

"Well, now that that's settled, why don't you four go down and catch up while Christopher and I have a little chat about what exactly happened." Dumbledore was being his meddling old self again.

"Wait, should I transform into a dog because I'm a wanted man?" Sirius asked hurriedly.

"Your name HAS been cleared but you're supposed to be dead so it wouldn't hurt. It is a Saturday after all. Oh, and James? You're free to wander the castle. I had a little something printed in the _Daily Prophet_ to say that you're alive." James nodded and they left the headmaster's office without a word.

"So Prongsie, how are you and Snivelly doing?" Sirius sneered at the Head of Slytherin House who was sitting in a chair across from them sulking.

"Don't call him that, Snuffles!" James said defensively.

"That well, huh?" Sirius just smirked.

"You're being an arse, Padfoot," James said angrily.

"I'm good at that," Sirius muttered. "So, you were alive all this time and I didn't hear a word from you? No one did. We thought you were dead. No letter, no postcard, no nothing to prove otherwise," Sirius frowned at James.

"Well excuse me if I was in a coma for six years before I awoke to realize I had no memory of anything but my name!" James exploded. "Next time I get amnesia I'll be sure to send a letter to a convict who I don't remember but I really know!"

"Calm down James," Severus ordered.

"Sirius, it would be best if you calmed down as well," Remus said as he put a placating hand on the dog's arm. Both men sat down and glared at each other.

"What a loving reunion," Severus bit out sarcastically. "You two fight far too often."

"We do not!" Sirius and James shouted in unison. Then they glared at each other.

"It's because they're so alike," Remus told Severus who nodded.

"We are not alike!" they both shouted at once. The glaring match continued.

"Ah, the sweet sounds of sibling rivalry. It's good to have them both back," Remus said sarcastically.

"Sibling rivalry, I can deal with," James nodded emphatically to further prove his point.

"So Prongsie," Sirius said maliciously, "How long have you remembered us?"

"It's been almost a week since I got my first memories back, I think," James said. "Why _Snuffles_? Gonna chide me for not sending a letter to a man who was thought to be dead?"

"Would you two stop arguing already?" Severus shouted angrily. "You're acting like little children." He was glowering the general direction of the Marauders.

"I will if he does," the arguing animagi said at the same time, both folding their arms across their chests.

"Now, both of you, apologize to each other," Severus commanded.

"Sorry Prongs; I'm an arse," Sirius muttered darkly.

"I'm sorry too, Padfoot. I was being stupid, I guess." James was staring fiercely at his shoes all through the apology.

"So, what do you remember? Everything? Anything? Do you remember my favorite prank?" Sirius suddenly looked brightly over at his friend.

"I remember some stuff but not everything. Um, I remember everything from school, everything that has to do with Sev and everything that has to do with the Marauders. Everything else is pretty vague. I can remember some people's names but other people, like my wife, I can hardly remember except maybe visually." James didn't like to talk about his memory. It hurt that he couldn't remember people who should have been important to him. He was lucky that he remembered his friends so well. And Severus. He was very lucky to remember Severus.

"We're not supposed to tell him what to remember either. We're supposed to let it come naturally. Harry's a bit of an exception. Because he's so different from the baby he was fifteen years ago, we're allowed to talk about how Harry is his son," Remus informed Sirius before the dog could say something wrong.

"Wait, so you don't remember your wife?" Sirius looked shocked.

"Nope. Well, I know that she had long, red hair but that's about it." James shrugged. Severus noticed how uncomfortable James looked.

"Is anyone hungry? It's getting around dinner time." The pleasant tones sounded funny coming from Severus.

"I'm famished!" James jumped up from the sofa and headed over to the fireplace. He called down to the kitchens to have the house elves send him some dinner. A few moments later, dinner for four appeared on James' dining table.

"Man, I've missed Hogwarts food so much. That Chresto-whatsit guy has pretty good food at his place but nothing compares to Hogwarts food," Sirius said as he sat down.

"I've been living off ramen and instant mac and cheese for a month," Remus said as he eyed the food greedily. "Hogwarts food sounds too good to be true."

"This looks better than what they've been serving in the Great Hall," Severus said in a tone that wasn't exactly _happy_ but it wasn't his normal, negative tones either.

"Hospital food sucks," James remarked simply.

"Ho'pital foo'?" Sirius said through a mouth full of roast chicken.

"I was staying at St. Luke's before my memory came back," James said after he swallowed the steamed veggies he'd been chewing.

"St. Luke's?" Sirius looked perplexed. As he thought about the name he had his glass of pumpkin juice raised almost to his lips.

"Muggle institution. It's where they keep the nutters," Remus said tersely as he bit into his drumstick like the wild animal that controlled him once a month. "Mmm, so much better than fast food."

"Man, muggles must go mad without magic," Sirius muttered.

"They don't know about it so how could they?" Severus supplied. He was feeling a little left out of the conversation.

"They actually get along quite well without it," James put in. "You'd be surprised how much they can do without it. There's a lot of things that they can do that we cant."

"Like what?" Sirius looked interested. He always did when the subject of muggles came up. Anything that would have driven his mother batty when she was alive was something he took a great interest in.

"Well, they've got these machines called computers and they can play games on them and write on them and they can even go on this thing they call the internet and talk to people all over the world." James realized just how hard it was to explain something that he'd known practically since he had woken from the coma. It was like when he was in school and had to explain certain magic things to a muggleborn. Once you've known something long enough, it becomes a part of you and you understand it but can't describe it.

"That's really weird," Sirius muttered completely entranced by the explanation.

"So James, how is Harry doing?" Remus shifted the conversation before they got into an explanation of the function of something utterly simple like a cheap key ring.

"Oh, he's doing well. He told me that he got mostly E's and O's on his O.W.L.s. He even scraped an A on his Divination one." James smiled warmly.

"What did he get the O's on?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Defense and Potions, I think. I know there were two. Severus, do you remember?" James turned to the man in question.

"That sounds right considering I know he got an O in Potions as I don't let anything lower in my class and he seems to be more than proficient in Defense." Snape looked uninterested at best in this bit of conversation.

"I knew he was an ace at Defense," Sirius nodded. "But if I recall correctly, he hated Potions. No offence, Snape. It's a Gryffindor thing."

"He said he wanted to become an Auror so I would assume that he knew Potions was a smart direction to go," Remus added. "He probably worked quite hard to get that O."

"Or he cheated," Snape muttered.

"Harry wouldn't do that!" Sirius shouted and stood up in fury.

"Sev, I don't think my son would do something like that," James said quietly.

"Severus, I think that was an incredibly rude and unfounded statement," Remus replied quietly and seriously.

"It's just not my week," Severus said sulkily.

"What does THAT mean, Snivellus?" Sirius asked glaring.

"It means I'm not in the best of moods!" Snape shouted angrily.

"Oh dear, not another fight," Remus moaned and put his head in his hand.

"I'm a deer!" James shouted loudly and tried to divert the attention away from the fight. Remus chuckled.

"Shut up, Prongs," Sirius said but couldn't hide the amusement in his voice fully.

"I don't want to shut up!" James cried like a little child.

"Well that's just too bad!" Sirius yelled back, equally childish.

"What're you gonna do? Tape my mouth shut?"

"Snapey! Make Pronsie shut up!" Sirius shouted with an impish grin that only he could make look stunningly attractive.

"Do it yourself, Black," Snape replied lazily.

"Eww, he's practically my BROTHER!" Sirius replied and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Yeah, we're like freaking brothers," James added with equal disgust.

"I pity your mother," Severus said and everyone laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Yeah, I shouldn't have made you all wait but I don't like to post too often. I know; I'm cruel. I would like to thank EVERYONE who reviewed or added me to their story alerts or favorite story lists EVER. You all rock whole sock drawers. Also, I would like to specifically thank Brucey, one of my bestest buddies, for the fake flame. LOVE YA BRUCEY! I also love my refulgent beta, another of my bestest friend, CONSCIENCE. Without Con Ari wouldn't have her cool 'gangsta' moment in this chap. Yes, she inspired it. Isn't she lovely? As always, I appreciate reviews or any other kind of responses. I love you all to bits and pieces! You all will probably hate me when you read the end of this though. Don't worry. Chapter 5 is already in the works. I've got about 1000-2000 words (I should check that).

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to the series. If I did, Harry would NOT be the main character and Sirius would NOT be dead. Snape would just be a spy for the Order and not be all… evil like. And Draco, well, let's just say that Draco would not only realize the error of his ways but also that he loves me. Yeah, that pretty much covers what would happen if I owned Harry Potter's universe… some of you are glad I don't.**

Remus and Sirius left not long after, both claiming they were tired. They both also went to Remus' place. James knew what that meant. That left him and Severus alone.

"Look, Severus, we need to talk," James said with deep, calming breaths.

"About what, James?" Severus asked with feigned innocence. He knew; they both knew.

"Severus, I don't know about you, but I still feel the same way I did all those years ago. If I may steal my own words, I kinda sorta love you, Snape." James' eyes stared widely and hopefully at Severus.

"James," Severus started and the sighed. He didn't know what he wanted to say.

"Look, Sev, if you want me to shove off, if you'll be happier without me then just say so and I'll stop. I just-- I just need to know where we stand. I can't take this limbo anymore." James looked vulnerable and insecure. Those were two emotions that rarely occurred in James Potter.

"It's been so long, James," Severus said softly. It was a scared voice.

"Why are you afraid? The world is a lot more accepting now." James went to take Severus' hands in his own but then thought better of it and let his arms fall lamely back to his sides.

"Why is it that those two can just say 'Oh, you're not a traitor' or 'Oh, you're not dead' and go back to what they had before like nothing ever happened?" Severus asked seriously. There was no sneering tone, no fear in his voice.

"Because, to be honest, they've never had a lot. We were the only friends Remus ever had and the only family for Sirius. They never had that kind of acceptance and love. They need each other profoundly." James knew this like he knew his own name. It was just something that went along with those two. "We had friends and family our whole lives. We had people out there who cared about us at all times. I guess we take that for granted."

"I didn't always have someone who cared about me," Snape scowled.

"Well, when you were younger there was… um, a girl with a flower name," James' face was screwed up in concentration trying to remember.

"Don't strain yourself; if it's not there it's not there," Severus said softly, sweetly and plenty of other adverbs seldom associated with the Potions master.

"Well, you had her and then, not long after the two of you stopped being friends, there was us." James and Severus had never really defined what they had in words. That was the one thing that had scared both of them: defining their relationship. As long as they knew it was there they felt that was all that really mattered. "And, admittedly it's not much but the Death Eaters is like a gang and there are studies that show that people join gangs to feel needed and have people that care about them." James looked hopeful.

"What are you trying to say?" Severus asked dryly.

"Well, I lost my point in there somewhere," James admitted. "Just tell me; tell me what you want." James was back to being vulnerable and hopeful. His hands remained lamely at his sides, this time not even trying to take Severus' in his own.

"I don't know," Severus admitted regretfully. "It's all so sudden, you being alive and wanting all this. I'm just not sure anymore." He sank onto the couch and James could see the stress of the conversation written all over his features.

"It's confusing, all these emotions. But it feels a lot better to know I have them, to remember them, than I ever felt when I was missing my memories. When I didn't have any memories it felt like I didn't have anyone who loved me, who cared about me. None of my friends at St. Luke's knew the real me because _I_ didn't know the real me and so they couldn't care about me, couldn't love me. Sev, it feels good to care about someone, truly care, and to feel that, at least at one point, they cared for me too."

"It's not that I don't care about you, James," Severus said with a scowl usually reserved for when someone was being more stupid than usual.

"Then what is it Sev? I promise you that whatever you have to say won't possibly cause irreversible damage," James stared into Severus' black eyes.

"You're the one who broke up with me!" Severus cried childishly. "You broke my heart! You told me you couldn't take it anymore!"

"Yeah because you became a Death Eater! A freaking Death Eater Severus! Do you remember what _I _was doing? I was a full-time fighter for the Order! Do you really think that I could have been with a Death Eater!" James defended, childishly fighting back.

"You were with Lily! Do you think it was EASY for me to see you running around with her while I was just your little secret? Do you think I liked that?" Severus was raging.

"I hated it too, you know! And now we don't have to hide. There's nothing wrong with the two of us being together unless you don't want to. In fact, I think I'm going to take out a page in the _Prophet_ to announce our relationship. How much do you think that'll run me? I have Harry's welfare to think about too." James was raving and pacing back and forth.

"Are you quite serious?" Severus paled at the mention.

"If that's what it takes, I'm perfectly serious, Severus. If I can allay your doubts then I will. If it's out of my hands, well, it will be upsetting but I'll get over it." James wasn't wearing his usual joking face. He did look as serious as he said he was.

"We'll have a trial run, I should think," Severus said. "And we must keep it from the Death Eaters. As much as the rest of the world has grown more accepting, they're still quite close-minded about all of that. Of course, most of them aren't exactly straight, to be quite honest, but that's beside the point."

"Of course. Anything you say, Sev," James smiled placidly.

"Do you think the parents would mind?" Severus asked him in the peaceful voice he was using to describe all the conditions.

"What does it matter what the parents think. I'm a parent and I think it's a brilliant idea." James was back to his usual tone that implied most of what he said was mere banter and badinage.

"I quite agree with that statement." Severus nodded emphatically. "So, a trial run it is. Reminds me of old times."

"That it does," James said with a wide grin. He then sat down next to Severus. "It's been too long." Somehow their hands ended up intertwined, though neither knew who had initiated it nor did they care.

"Far too long," Severus agreed.

James Potter sat in the library flipping through a book. He wasn't really paying attention to the book but rather was thinking about Severus. He recalled that they had gone on a trial run the first time around as well. Of course, James couldn't remember exactly when the trial had ended and the relationship began. The two had never officially called it over nor had they ever actually called each other boyfriends or anything ridiculous like that. They felt that it didn't need a definition. It just was.

James put the end of the trial period at the time of _The_ Kiss. They had kissed before it, but that kiss had been special. There had been something about that kiss that had changed everything; morphed it into something much more serious than the 'trial period' had been.

"Hey Dad. What're you doing here?" Harry asked as he sat, or rather plopped, as all teenage boys do, into the chair across from James.

"Just thinking." James replied, coming out of his reverie.

"You have to come to the library to just think?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Had to get out the dungeons," James replied seriously. "It's so… _enclosed_." He then gave a very dramatic and forced shudder.

"Yeah, I can't imagine living anywhere in the castle but the tower," Harry replied.

"So Harry, I don't know how to say this anymore tactfully, but have you got a girlfriend-- or a boyfriend, I'm not opposed to either." James looked at his son expectantly.

"Geez," Harry said shocked. He was totally unprepared for this question as it had come out of the blue. "No, I don't have either. What about YOU Dad?" Harry shot his father one of those 'Hah! I win!' looks.

"Well, it's not really official but we're on a trial basis," James replied happily. "But I think he'll come around soon enough. He knows he can't resist me."

"Um, who is it?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Oh, you wouldn't like the answer, I don't think," James said sadly.

"Is it Sirius? Dumbledore told me he was back yesterday," Harry said.

"Ah, no, it's not Sirius. Didn't you know he and Remus are together?" Harry's eyes grew really wide at this question.

"Are you serious?" Harry asked.

"Why? Aren't you okay with that sort of thing?" James asked his son.

"Huh? I don't mind. Seamus, he's in my dorm, is gay. We don't really notice it, I don't think." Harry looked a little side-tracked through this little speech. "I was wondering if you were serious about Sirius and Remus being together. I never thought of that."

"Oh, well I don't see why they wouldn't tell you. That is, unless they were afraid that you wouldn't take it well."

"Why wouldn't I like your… person?" Harry felt this question was a little awkward.

"It's okay, I don't know what to call him myself. Um, let's just say the two of you don't really get along too well, from what I've seen." James felt the awkwardness.

"Excuse me," an Asian girl came up to the two. "May I speak to Harry?"

"Ravenclaw?" James raised his eyebrows. "Nice." He then nodded and left.

"Is Professor Potter related to you?" Cho asked Harry.

"Yeah, he's my dad," Harry said nervously.

"Oh, um, well, I was wondering… I know we didn't end things very well last year but, um, I guess I kinda wanted to maybe, um, go out with you again," she mumbled nervously. It wasn't exactly mumbling, per say, but Cho had such a quiet voice that it always seemed like she was mumbling.

"Oh, well, er, I don't really know. Can I think about it?" Harry asked and smoothed his bangs down nervously.

"That's okay. Take your time," Cho said brightly. She blushed a little and then left quickly. Harry let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He sighed and walked out of the library. Harry Potter sure had a lot to think about.

Before anyone knew it, Monday was there. There was a general gloomy feeling around the castle. Monday will do that to people. After lunch, sixth years had Transfiguration. Ariana Morrow had consumed a large amount of sugar during lunch.

"Yo! Professor McG-dawgizzle! What's crackalackin'?" Ariana asked in her best fake gangsta voice. "Professor Mr. Harry's Dad. What's shakin', my man?" Everyone was giving her odd looks.

"What did you just say?" Draco, who was the best at translating Ariana-American English, asked with completely perplexed look.

"Hey Professor McGonagall, what's up? Professor Mr. Harry's Dad? What's going on?" Ariana translated flawlessly. "Of course, that's not a literal translation. American greetings are difficult to translate. I apologize for that."

"You have issues," a Ravenclaw who was passing by.

"What? You need a tissue? Sorry, fresh out." Ariana smiled her sweetest, fakest, most Slytherin smile. The Ravenclaw made a frustrated noise and huffed off to his seat.

"Why, WHY, Zabini, would you give her so much sugar?" Draco asked, wailing in despair.

"Sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" Blaise shouted in defense and truly apologetically.

"Yeah, you were too busy ogling Finnegan to notice anything," Draco muttered under his breath.

"You like Seamus?" Ariana raised an eyebrow. "I thought you liked What's-His-Face from Ravenclaw."

"Naw, he's snogging some Gryffindor," Blaise said dejectedly.

"Eh, he was ugly anyway," Ariana waved it off.

"Who's attractive by your standards then, Miss Snob?" Blaise mocked her.

"Well, that one seventh year Hufflepuff. You know the one I'm talking about. The one who's always doing the Big Brown Eyes and making us all melt?" Ariana asked Blaise.

"Oh yeah, Andrew Bennet, right?" Blaise said and Ariana nodded. "He is attractive."

"Would you two stop this ridiculous chatter?" Draco asked angrily.

"It's your fault for having friends who're all attracted to guys," Ariana smirked. "Does that tell you something about yourself?" she asked mischievously.

"It has proven to me time and time again that I am very much attracted to girls. I'm going to sit in the back today, I think, and snog a nice Ravenclaw." Draco headed off to do just as he said.

"He's just jealous that we get all the attention," Ariana said and linked arms with Blaise before they headed to their seats.

"Zabini's gay?" Ron asked interestedly.

"Of course he is; everyone knows that, Ronald," Hermione replied distractedly. She was busy flipping through the Transfiguration text.

"I didn't know that," Harry muttered.

"Well, you're too busy worrying about You-Know-Who to worry about teenage romance," Ron replied. Harry shrugged, knowing it was true.

"Hey Dad, Professor," Harry said as he walked in and dropped his bag on his father's table. He was getting less and less unnerved by seeing his father spending time with his Potions Professor everyday.

"I should go, James," Severus said and stood up. James used the hand he was holding to yank Snape back to sitting next to him.

"No. The two of you need to get along better," James insisted. Severus scowled and Harry raised his eyebrows.

"I have to take care of a detention from some trouble-making Hufflepuffs," Snape said levelly.

"Have one of your prefects do it," James said.

"And how am I going to tell them to do so?" Snape asked curiously but impatiently.

"Well, Harry can escort you to the common room where you can send one of your prefects to the detention and come back. Unless you want me to go with you," James smiled mischievously.

"Why don't we all go and make it a field trip?" Severus snapped sarcastically.

"Let's!" James jumped up and dragged Severus with him.

"Ari, you shouldn't sit on the table," Pansy said conversationally. "With your weight you'll break it."

"That's rude, Pansy. Apologize immediately," Ariana replied in the same conversational tone. "Goodness knows you're no twig yourself."

"You're just jealous because she's prettier than you, Pansy," Blaise remarked not moving from his position comfortably in front of the fire. The one thing he didn't like about living in the dungeons was how cold it always was.

"And a far better person," Ariana added. "Hello Professor!" She smiled brightly and waved.

"I need someone to supervise a detention, Mr. Malfoy, preferably." Snape got straight to the point.

"Ah, well he's busy off in some unused classroom, I'd expect," she said with a wrinkled nose. "He's always off doing something silly like that." He disgust was further evinced by her nose scrunching up even more.

"What about you?" Snape looked a little desperate.

"Well, as luck would have it," Ariana replied in a grave tone, "I happen to be busy tonight. I'm finding druggies and stealing their money and significant others. That way they can't get high OR do significant other-y things." She smiled widely. "But if you WANT drugs circulating around the school you can make me stop my Jump Street program and force me to watch your ne'er-do-well students."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Snape asked harshly.

"Ah, that, my friend, is the eternal question. But, I'm willing to help you." Ariana turned towards the door that led to the boys' dorms. "VINNY!"

There was the sound of running coming from the hallway and a guy who looked like he'd been napping on his homework popped his head out the door. "Yeah?" he asked in a half-asleep voice.

"Professor Snape needs someone to oversee a detention. You're a prefect and free. Go help." Ariana smiled sweetly and Vinny grumbled but listened anyways.

After Snape left the common room, Blaise remarked, "Now HE was attractive."

"He's straight, hon," Ariana remarked seriously from her seat on the table. "And a dang good kisser."

"So," Harry said nervously. He was okay with his father spending time with the Potions Professor as long as he himself didn't have to. This forcing them to get along thing was completely awkward.

"Was there any point to this, James?" Severus asked in his usual dry and sardonic tones.

"You and Harry need to get along better," James said simply. "So, you're going to list your grievances with each other and we'll work to mend them."

"Do you really think this will work?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Well, everything's worth a shot," James said lamely. He didn't seem to convinced of it himself.

"If something happens to my students in their detention it's on your head, James," Snape said and sat down on the couch next to the Marauder in question.

"All right Harry, come sit across from us," James motioned for his son to sit down in one of the chairs. Harry did so reluctantly.

"Er…" Harry looked beyond uncomfortable.

"All right, Harry, you go first. List all your complaints about Severus in an orderly manner and try not to take too long. Then, Severus can defend himself or list his. It's a very simple process that Moony invented for when Padfoot and I would fight." James smiled proudly.

"All right, er…," Harry thought a moment. "He doesn't grade fairly, he favors Slytherins, he goes especially hard on me because of preconceived notions he's had about me from day one, and he gives out way too many detentions."

"Now Sev, it's your turn," James turned to the man beside him.

"I will defend myself by saying that I do what I see fit to keep my students in line. I adjust my teaching methods to satisfy the needs of all of them." Severus looked uninterested in the whole thing.

"I bet that's just something you say to parents too keep them happy!" Harry shouted indignantly.

"James is your parent, is he not?" Severus asked in his usual dry tones.

"That doesn't matter! He doesn't care about crap like that!" Harry shot up from his chair angrily.

"Calm down you two," James said serenely. "Severus, state your complaints."

"Fine. Harry is rude, arrogant and far too recklessly Gryffindor for my tastes. He struts around the castle with no regard for the rules and acts without ever thinking. And that is just the tip of the iceberg," Severus said in a businesslike tone.

"Would you worry about breaking the rules if an enraged psychopath was after your life every moment of every day and wouldn't stop until your head was mounted on his mantel?" Harry asked angrily.

"Wait, he wants your head on his mantel? That's just disgusting," James wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"If you laid low then maybe you'd be safer," Snape suggested almost mockingly.

"He's after me specifically. Unless I change my name, address and appearance I have no hopes of ever avoiding him. Even that doesn't give me much of a chance." Harry was scowling deeply.

"Can the two of you come to some sort of agreement. You two are so whiney," James slumped down in his chair.

"Are you sure _we're_ the whiney ones?" Severus arched an eyebrow in a very Slytherin manner. Just then, Harry burst into a fit of laughter. He couldn't control himself; he just started laughing.

"Are you okay, Harry?" James looked a little confused at his son's odd behavior.

"I… fine…" Harry managed to choke out between laughs.

"Are you sure?" James looked a little concerned for his son's mental health.

"Y-y-yeah," Harry said finally calming down. "I just finally figured out who your… um… person is." Harry let out a final laugh then sat back with an amused smile on his face.

"You're not upset?" James looked scared.

"Of course not!" Harry cried. "I just don't understand it is all." Harry shrugged.

"I can't explain it myself, son. It just sort of happened about 20 years ago." James looked relieved. "I'm glad that's settled."

"Prongsie! We've mischief to manage!" Sirius sang the next morning when he arrived at James' place.

"It's early, Padfoot," James whined as he came out of his bedroom rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"That's the beauty of it," Sirius said enthusiastically. "Now, I think we should crash Sniv's class."

"He teaches Potions; that's dangerous. Plus, I don't think he'd appreciate it too much." James let out a huge yawn.

"Since when do we care what Snivellus thinks anyways?" Sirius asked with the look of a kicked puppy adorning his face.

"Since he and I started our thing," James said, still unsure of what to call it.

"Oh you're no fun. I didn't change how I acted towards Moony when we started dating!" Sirius was pouting.

"That's because you two were friends before you fell in love," James replied easily.

"We need to do something distinctly Marauder-y to celebrate our reunion," Sirius said with a note of finality.

"It's too early to scheme, Padfoot." James insisted.

"Well I've been cooped up at Moony's for the past couple days! I need to get out and do something!" Sirius stretched as if to prove his point.

"I bet you were perfectly happy to be at Moony's these past couple days," James replied. "You probably had the time of your life." Sirius didn't deny this whatsoever. "Well, I'm going to go sleep for a couple more hours. If you want to wait around for me, well then, have fun." James went back to his room and shut the door loudly to prove his point.

"I've got the perfect idea, Prongsie," Sirius said when James walked out into the kitchen for breakfast.

"Padfoot, we're not kids anymore," James said as he pulled the orange juice out of the fridge and took a drink from the carton.

"I know but I'm restless Prongsie. I need to do something decidedly immature." He flashed his charming smile and James rolled his eyes.

"You must be out of your mind, calling me Prongsie like that," James said but sat down at the table where Sirius had a bunch of diagrams and plans spread out in front of him.

"Have you seen my Padfoot?" Remus asked as he stumbled out of the fireplace. He then looked over to the table and rolled his eyes. "I knew he'd be here."

"The Marauders reunited and ready to cause mass mayhem yet again," Sirius said with his impish grin.

"We are?" Remus asked as he sat down with them. "Ah, we are." He had looked down at the diagrams.

"Harry, you really ought to focus on your homework," Hermione said in a motherly way.

"I did it a long time ago, Hermione," Harry said. It was true too. He had finished it quickly in the hopes of spending the evening with his father. Sadly, his father had told him, before dinner, of course, that he would be busy all night so Harry was at a loss for what to do.

"Harry, these grades count towards your career!" Hermione obviously didn't believe him.

"He already finished, 'Mione," Ron asserted with a pen cap in his mouth. Harry didn't know why but Ron had an extreme fascination with muggle pens. Perhaps it was best to stay in the dark about that one.

"Oh, Cho stopped me in the hallway and asked if you had thought about her question at all. What _was_ her question." Hermione had unrolled a piece of parchment and was reading that as she asked.

"Ah, she asked me if I wanted to get back together," Harry said tentatively.

"Oh, that's nice," Hermione said distractedly. When Harry didn't say anything else she prompted, "And?"

"I told her I'd think about it," Harry shrugged.

"Well, what do you think?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.

"I'm not really interested in her anymore," Harry replied uncomfortably. He was really bad at talking about this romantic stuff. "She's pretty and all but we don't really have much in common."

"Oh Harry!" Hermione cried concernedly. "You shouldn't lead her on!"

"Well I don't want to hurt her feelings!" Harry returned with equal parts concern and awkwardness. "I'm going to go on a walk and clear my head." Harry got up and went through the portrait hole. Once he was out of the common room he started aimlessly wandering.

Harry didn't really register where he was walking until he bumped into someone. "Sorry," Harry muttered. He didn't look who he bumped into and had planned on continuing his walk when he was stopped.

"Hello Harry," a dreamy voice said. Luna Lovegood.

"Hey Luna," Harry greeted.

"Did you know that all Cho Chang ever talks about is you?" Luna asked conversationally. Of course, everything with Luna sounded conversational. Harry supposed that the blonde could make questions like a lawyer would ask in a murder case sound like something you'd hear everyday.

"I did not know that," Harry replied in a tone that implied he wanted to get back to his walk. Luna was never good at inferring such things.

"Well she does. And she's very possessive of you. Are you two dating?" Luna looked vaguely interested. Of course, Luna always looked vague. It was a character trait.

"Luna, daaaaaahling," Ariana glided up to the two. "What are we hassling The Boy Who Lived about?" Ariana used Harry's famous nickname in such a joking manner that it failed to incense the boy like it would have had anyone else said it.

"Cho Chang likes him," Luna replied.

"Ah, well I suggest you turn her down. Ravenclaws, barring my lovely cousin Luna, are terrible people." Ariana smiled evilly. "In fact, Miss Chang in particular is one of the worst."

"You two are related?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Of course! You didn't think we were both nutters for no reason, did you?" Ariana asked.

"I can't imagine what family gatherings are like," Harry muttered to himself. In his mind he saw countless blonds staring vaguely and running around hyperly. Harry shuddered at the image.

"So, are you dating Cho?" Luna didn't sound impatient like most people would. It was entirely disconcerting to Harry.

"No. Has she been saying that we are?" Harry asked.

"She acts like it," Luna replied and then walked off.

"Sorry she's so abrupt. No one in the family has any manners but me!" Ariana smiled broadly, waved, and then left herself.

"That was weird," Harry remarked to himself. A portrait next to him nodded.

Harry went back to his mindless wandering and ended up in the library. Once here he took a random book and pretended to read. His mind, however, was not on the reading but rather on his romantic life. He looked around and searched through his brain to try and figure out who he wanted to date.

Harry thought about plenty of girls, in fact, all the girls he knew. The funny thing was, he only saw them as friends or sisters. He didn't find any of them attractive. This made him wonder if he was attracted to guys. It's not like it was uncommon at Hogwarts. In fact, Harry knew for a fact that quite a few of the guys in his year were gay. There was Seamus, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle, for starters.

Harry's thoughts on this matter, however, were interrupted by someone sitting down across from him and deciding that they needed to talk to them.

"Hey Harry," Cho smiled shyly at him.

"Oh, hi Cho," Harry replied distractedly.

"So have you thought about us getting back together?" She asked eagerly.

"A little," Harry replied.

"Do you have an answer yet?" Cho asked with even more enthusiasm. Harry vaguely thought that if she got any more enthusiastic, Madame Pince would hush her.

"Yeah, I do," Harry decided.

"What is it?" She looked nervous and excited.

"I can't."

"What?" Cho looked hurt.

"I think I'm gay." Harry was admitting this as much to himself as he was to Cho.

"Oh come on Harry, I know an excuse when I hear it," Cho sounded offended now.

"No, I really think I'm gay," Harry said seriously. Cho glared at him.

"If you didn't want to go with me you could have just said so. I know you can't be gay from the way you kissed me last year," Cho stated angrily.

"Well excuse me for trying to be honest," Harry replied scathingly. He slammed his book closed, stood up, and marched out of the library without another word. Cho just sat there looking stunned.

"That didn't go well," Harry muttered to himself as he walked back to the common room. "Hermione'll be happy though, now that I'm not leading anyone on."

Harry reached the Fat Lady and decided that he was too worked up to go back into the common room again. As the portrait was asking for the password, he turned sharply and resumed his aimless wandering. He was wandering around for five minutes when he wandered into an empty classroom. Well, it should have been empty. It wasn't empty, however.

It was dark in the classroom but Harry could distinctly make out a couple kissing on the old professor's desk at the far end of the room. There were no desks so the classroom was empty save for the couple, Harry, and the desk. As Harry entered, the lights flicked on and Harry gasped. He was shocked out of his mind. For once in his life, Harry Potter could not believe his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Sorry about the torturous cliffy I left you with… It was just so EASY. I don't really know what to say about this chapter. Sorry that updating has taken me so long lately. I was reading an excellent book (_Twilight_ for those who care) and kinda couldn't focus on writing. I know, I'm a terrible person. My friend Brucey (not her real name but I don't think she'd appreciate me posting the real thing) got me into a Backstreet Boys kick. I've been listening to Millenium the past couple days… I don't THINK it's affected my writing but you can be the judge of that. Thank you SOOOOOOO much Con because without you, this chapter would be full of annoying errors. I must admit, however, that there were a few things (like the as you wanted me to change to like) that I couldn't possibly change but that's about it. Everyone thank Conscience for clearing up my ugly, stupid mistakes. She's really the best beta a girl could ask for.

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. If I did own them do you REALLY think I'd be writing on a fan fiction site? Or that Snape would love LILY? Uh, no, our darling Sevy looooooooooveeees Prongsie, that much is obvious. Now go read and DON'T SUE ME! I SAID I DIDN'T OWN IT!**

"R-ron," Harry choked out. He was shocked beyond compare. Sure he knew that his best friend had acquired quite the romantic life this year, but he hadn't expected this. No, definitely hadn't expected this. Ron Weasley was making out with Justin Finch-Fletchy.

"Oh, hey Harry," Ron looked a little embarrassed. "I'd been meaning to tell you."

"I'll just leave you two then," Harry said and backed out slowly.

"You do that," Justin said harshly. Harry had a feeling he wasn't fond of being interrupted.

"Wait, Harry, we need to talk about this," Ron said and aimed to bound out. Justin stopped him. "Hey, friends first," Ron said and shook him off. Justin scowled but let Ron go.

"What?" Harry asked when Ron stopped him.

"Look, we should probably talk about this. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Ron looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet in shame.

"It's okay," Harry said honestly. "This has been a very informative few days," Harry muttered to himself, thinking of his realization about his father, his talk with Cho, and now his discovery of Ron.

"What are you talking about?" Ron looked perplexed. Admittedly, this was a common occurrence on Ron's face.

"Oh, well I found out my dad's with Professor Snape a few days ago," Harry said this as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "And then, after my talks with Cho, I realized I fancy boys myself." Harry shrugged.

"Well, that's good to know. You've never fancied me?" Ron blanched.

"No," Harry said quickly. "That would be way too awkward. You're practically my brother." Ron looked relieved.

"Good, I feel the same way." Harry felt himself let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Well, that's a load off of my chest."

"That's over half the dormitory," Harry remarked.

"Huh?" Ron looked a little confused.

"You, me, Seamus, all of us are gay. That's over half our dormitory," Harry expanded.

"You're right!" Ron cried in sudden realization.

"Well, I'm going to go back to the common room," Harry said.

"Yeah, I think Justin's over me now," Ron replied and followed Harry.

"What's that?" Harry asked Hermione the next morning at breakfast. A huge letter had arrived for her and she was pouring over it, hardly noticing her breakfast.

"Letter from Viktor," she replied, not looking up. Ron, for his part, didn't explode as he normally did at the mention of the Bulgarian Seeker. Hermione noticed this and finally looked up and stared at Ron in disbelief.

"Something wrong?" Ron asked. He had been in great humor all that morning. In fact, he'd been smiling goofily since the night before and his talk with Harry.

"You didn't say something offensive about Viktor," Hermione remarked as she blinked trying to put everything together. "That's not like you."

"Well, I've had a heavy weight lifted from my chest as of late. I'm in a rather pleasant mood and nothing your darling Vikky wants can spoil it." Ron just smiled his silly smile and went back to joyfully eating his breakfast.

"What is this heavy weight that's been lifted?" Hermione scowled. By now she'd completely forgotten her letter.

"Ah, that, my dear Hermione, is for us males to know. I'm sure you wouldn't understand."

"Oh that's rich, coming from the simplest of us three!" Hermione shouted. Harry figured she was getting worked up because her data had been wrong. Ron hadn't gone on a tirade about Viktor and she'd thought he would. Being wrong had obviously deterred her. Then, of course, being left out of the loop didn't help any.

After breakfast, the Trio went to Charms where they sat practicing a particularly difficult charm. Harry and Ron were paired together and Hermione was working with Neville.

"You should tell her," Harry said with a wave of his wand. "She's in a foul mood because she feels left out. You know how bossy she gets when she's left out." Harry gave his best friend a pointed look.

"Neville! You wave your wand far too much! You need concise movements to get the charm to work. Like _this_!" Hermione then showed Neville how to perfectly complete the charm.

"See, I told you," Harry said.

"But I've just told you!" Ron cried. "I was feeling so light and carefree!"

"Well you can't be completely guilt-free about it until you tell Hermione, you know," Harry pointed out. "She's our best friend."

"You're right," Ron said grudgingly.

"Professor Snape assigns way too much homework," Ariana remarked as she, Blaise, and Draco were working in the library during their free period.

"Why do you even continue the class then?" Draco asked irritably. Ariana was known to complain a lot.

"So I can be a drug dog," she stated simply. She then wrote a few sentences quickly, laid down her pen and said, "I'm done." Blaise nearly fell off his chair.

"You complained and you were almost done?" Draco asked menacingly. Ariana was unfazed.

"Well, I find that's the best time to complain."

"What do you plan to do for the rest of the free period?" Blaise asked. He knew that she was done with all her other homework.

"Inquire about your love lives," Ariana replied. Draco glared but finished his essay quickly and Blaise did the same.

"What do you want to know?" Draco asked grudgingly.

"Ah, I think I'll start with Blaise. How's love going for you, darling?" Ariana smiled sweetly.

"No better or worse than usual. Nothing much has happened for me lately. Ron Weasley was making out with Justin Finch-Fletchy last night though. Justin was bragging about it. Apparently, Weasley's a good kisser." Blaise, looked perfectly fine that nothing was happening for him romantically.

"Weasley's gay?" Draco asked incredulously.

"You'd be surprised at who all is," Blaise replied.

"How did I not know this?" Draco asked.

"Because you're too busy with girls to care. Besides, I figure you don't need to know. It's not like _you're_ after a boyfriend. You want a girlfriend." Blaise sent him a 'duh' look.

"I don't want a girlfriend!" Draco shouted so everyone could hear. "I like female company, that much you can say. But a girlfriend is too much work and too constricting. Really, Zabini, I'm not a commitment type of guy."

"Well I, for one, think that's despicable. Do you know what you do to girls' hearts? You rip them out and stomp on them," Ariana replied seriously for once.

"That's why I usually aim for the girls who don't expect much," Draco shot back. "If they don't expect a relationship then I don't disappoint them when I can't give it to them."

"Can't or won't?" Ariana asked dangerously. Draco let out a 'humph' and he packed his bag, all the while glaring at Ariana, before stalking out of the library.

"Well that was uncalled for and incredibly rude," Ariana remarked in her normal, almost joking, tones.

"Ari, you pushed him there," Blaise said pointedly.

"Well I hate how he's always breaking girls' hearts. I know a broken heart hurts." Ariana stared at her hands. "I can't watch him flit from girl to girl with out a care for her feelings, for her needs."

"I know, Ari. I hate it too," Blaise consoled her. He could tell there was more to her anger just like there was more to Draco's inability to commit to anyone.

"What is going on between you and Severus?" Professor McGonagall asked James during their free period.

"What do you mean?" James asked as he played lazily with his quill.

"I mean why aren't you two at each other's throats like you were in school?" she clarified. "Merlin knows it would be less unnerving than this peace."

"Oh, well, me and Sev are just sorta complicated like that," James was forcefully staring at his doodle.

"What exactly is going on with the two of you?" Minerva looked sternly at James.

James sighed heavily and then replied, "Oh, I don't know."

"I don't believe that for one moment, James Potter," she said in her most scolding teacher voice.

"Look, if you want to know, ask him. I don't know what he wants me to say and what he wants to keep private." James shot out irritably. He didn't like it when people asked him things, especially repeatedly, when he didn't know how to answer them.

"If you're tired you can take the rest of the day off," Minerva said caringly. "You're not paid to help me; I can't keep you here."

"I know; I like helping you," James replied. "It gives me something to do and keeps me out of Sev's hair. I'd be down there bothering him if I weren't up here bothering you." He smiled a humble smile-- something that looked more at home on his son's face despite their similarity-- and went back to his doodle.

"That was unnerving. You reminded me of Harry just there," McGonagall pointed out. James ruffled his hair sheepishly, an action that was entirely his own.

"Sev," James whispered to the sleeping Potions Master after creeping up to his desk. The day's classes had just ended. Severus shot up in alarm.

"What?" he snapped irritably after ascertaining his surroundings.

"You were asleep," James said with his face almost uncomfortably close to the other man's. "It's creepy to see you asleep in a chair. You're usually so alert."

"I was out late," was all Severus said in reply.

"Mmm, understandable," James nodded understandingly. "Too tired to spend time with me?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"I really must grade these papers," Severus replied with a yawn.

"Only because you assign so much work," James replied. "I could grade it and you could sleep," he offered.

"Do you really think you could grade Potions papers?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I took the class?" James answered, or more asked, weakly.

"You couldn't even grade first year papers," Severus replied icily.

"Are you upset with me?" James asked with a hurt look in his eyes. Severus sighed deeply and but a hand to his head.

"I'm just tired," he replied in a voice that indicated complete truth in his last statement.

"I don't like it when you're mad at me," James replied childishly. Severus noted, not for the first time, that James acted more like a child than his own son did.

"I don't usually get angry with you; I get cross," Severus replied as he searched through a desk drawer. "Where on earth did I put my pen," he muttered distractedly to himself.

"They're both the same," James pouted. "I don't like it when you're upset with me; it makes me feel bad. Neither my teachers nor my parents could make me feel guilty but one stern look from you and collapse from guilt."

"You're being overdramatic. Leave that for the mutt." Severus was still searching through his drawers.

"Is that it?" James pointed at a small bit of feather peeking out from underneath a few pieces of disheveled parchment. It was the quill Severus had been searching for. "Your desk is an uncharacteristic mess," James remarked.

"I haven't had the time to straighten it up lately. And besides, Miss Morrow invented a game she called 'Fifty-two Pick-up with Professor Snape's papers' today in class," Snape rounded his intense gaze on James for a brief moment and then brought it back down to his work. "You really do need to leave now; there's nothing else to distract me from my work."

"That's the exact reason I need to stay," James proclaimed.

"Just go," Severus replied good naturedly. His lips twitched upwards in a ghost of a smile.

"Hermione, I'm gay," Ron stated simply when she entered the Room of Requirement. They'd informed her that they needed to talk privately tonight and she'd agreed.

"And?" she raised an eyebrow expectantly, not surprised at all.

"What? You're not surprised?" Ron cried in shock.

"Why would I be? You're not the most difficult person to decipher," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Is that all you wanted?"

"I didn't think you'd be so unsurprised!" Ron cried.

"Why were you acting strange this morning," Hermione inquired persistently. She was determined to get an answer out of him.

"Well, Harry figured it out last night; I was relieved that it I didn't have to tell him 'cause I couldn't figure out how," Ron replied sheepishly.

"You had a crush on Viktor," Hermione stated, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Hehe, how did you know?" Ron looked embarrassed. Harry could see his ears growing redder and redder by the second. They were easily blending with his fiery hair.

"Oh, well I didn't put it together until just now but you were jealous when he and I got on so well. Why didn't you get angry this morning?" Hermione looked downright confused at that still.

"Well, I think it was the combination of the relief I felt at Harry and the fact that I fancy someone else now," Ron replied.

"Justin?" Harry asked curiously.

"No, someone else," Ron hid his face. "It's your turn Harry?"

"What?" he squeaked.

"Go on, your turn to confess to Hermione," Ron smirked triumphantly. Sure Harry could face down deranged old men after his life but talking about emotions and dating? That was WAY out of his league.

"Nuh-uh," Harry shook his head like a child, flat out refusing his best friend's request.

"Oh yes; you made me go through this torture now it's your turn. Unless you want me to tell her." Ron's smile at that moment was straight off the face of Fred or George. Apparently the red hair wasn't all they shared.

"Go ahead," Harry said. He figured it would be much easier if Ron said it for him.

"You're no fun," Ron scowled. "Harry's gay too," Ron remarked, turning to Hermione. This time she did look surprised. Pleasantly so, Harry noticed.

"Really Harry?" Hermione's eyebrows were lost in her fringe.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"But what about Cho?" Hermione's face quickly changed to concern. She didn't like to see people upset.

"I told her yesterday. I don't know if she took me seriously but I hoped she would spread it all around the school or at least tell you so I wouldn't have to," Harry muttered.

"Why would she do that?" Hermione asked, genuinely curious. "Do you really think she wants to have the whole school knowing that her ex-boyfriend is gay?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"The whole school thinks we're going out, 'Mione," Ron pointed out. "Well, except the blokes I've snogged."

"Oh my," Hermione replied blushing. "Are you two…?" she gestured vaguely, too embarrassed to say what she meant.

"NO!" Ron and Harry, both understanding and replying at the same moment, shouted.

"Eww, Hermione, that'd be awkward!" Ron replied with a scowl. Hermione looked skeptical.

"He's like my brother!" Harry assured her. She looked a little more convinced at that.

"So, do you like anyone, Harry?" Hermione smiled in a way that the boys were not at all used to. It was mischievous and looked odd on Hermione's face.

"Um, I haven't really had time to think about it," Harry confessed.

"What about you Ron?" Hermione turned the foreign-to-her-face smile towards the red head.

"Oh, well, um, you see…" Ron stuttered, flustered.

"You don't have to tell us now but you WILL tell us later," Hermione promised.

"WOAH!" Airana cried loudly as she fell to the floor and spilled not only her books but Blaise's and whoever's she smashed into as well the next day.

"Ouch," Harry moaned and clutched his head. Somehow his Potions text, a thick tome, had hit him in the head in it's process of flying from his hands and falling to the ground where he was sitting.

"Sorry Harry!" Ariana apologized loudly. "I'm a blonde and so I'm a klutz by default. I blame my mom, although she's a brunette…" Ariana paused her sentence to ponder.

"It's all right," Harry replied and started gathering his things.

"Ari, I am NOT watching where you're going so you have to. I do NOT appreciate getting hit in the head by your flailing limbs when you're trying to play a game of human dominoes," Blaise remarked although there was no malice, scolding, or anger in his voice. He actually seemed amused. Harry even noticed an attractive little half-smile playing across his face.

"Blaise, what're you staring at?" Ariana tilted her in question.

"I'm not staring at anything," Blaise replied coolly and he looked over at her. "Why?"

"Nothing," Ariana said with a smirk on her face.

"You've been spending too much time around Draco," Blaise muttered.

"Who says he didn't learn his smirk from me?" Ariana looked affronted. "I mean we've been bestest friends our whole lives."

"Good point," Blaise remarked easily. Harry watched this all interestedly. Slytherins, with their pureblood grace, were a sight to see up close. Harry realized how such terrible people could so easily get their way: they were beautiful in every way other than personality. Harry found himself growing mesmerized by what was happening in front of him.

"You going to pick up your books, Potter?" Blaise asked in a tone that reminded Harry he was in the company of two of the snakiest people in school. Even Ariana, who was so blindingly innocent, had to have been put in the evilest of the houses for a reason.

"Yeah," Harry remarked, hardly coming out of his thoughts. He picked the rest of his things up and went on his way automatically. His mind was still confused to the extreme.

"What are you staring at?" Blaise asked Ariana after Harry left. She was boring into Blaise's mind with her eyes; he could tell.

"Oh nothing," she replied in an obviously fake innocent voice. Blaise rolled his eyes.

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

"You don't expect a straight answer from me, do you?" Ariana smirked at him.

"Seriously, what is it? Do you know Legilimency?" Blaise asked in a scared voice. Ariana lazily raised an eyebrow. "What? It was an honest question." She raised the eyebrow even further. "You're making fun of me!" Blaise cried in despair. That set Ariana off on a giggle fit.

"Hey Harry!" James ran up to his son in the middle of the corridor.

"Is this what parental embarrassment feels like?" Harry muttered to Ron as they watched James jogging over to his son.

"Yep," Ron replied. "Welcome to the club."

"I don't think I want to be welcome," Harry muttered in reply.

"Harry, will you have dinner with me tonight?" James asked abruptly when he finally made it to the younger Potter. Harry glanced over at Ron who shrugged.

"Can Ron and Hermione come too?" He asked hopefully. Harry was still uncomfortable with actually having a parent and James had yet to really meet his best friends properly.

"I suppose," James nodded. "I'm going to guess that you wouldn't want Severus there, huh?" James said with a knowing look in his eye. Ron paled at the suggestion.

"Why would you want to eat with Snape?" Ron asked incredulously.

"I'll explain later," Harry said as he shoved Ron along. "See you tonight, Dad," he called back. Harry found himself musing over something that had been bothering him for the past few days: his father. After years of wishing for a family who loved him, Harry had finally settled for the love his friends and the whole Weasley family gave him. His father was a bit of a disruption to all that. He finally had a blood relative; his father was alive and loved him. Harry just couldn't help but have the nagging feeling that something was missing.

Harry and Ron informed Hermione of their dinner plans and she smiled pleasantly and said it was wonderful idea.

"Hey Seamus," Ron said as he sat down next to their dorm-mate at lunch, "I heard that you and Finch-Fletchy were snogging during break." Ron's tone was casual.

"Yep," Seamus just smirked.

"Thoughts?"

"What, are you two comparing notes or something?" Hermione asked in an exasperated voice. She was lazily rereading Krum's letter for what seemed like the umpteenth time to Harry.

"You might wanna listen, 'Mione; I heard he's bi," Ron informed her. Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to scanning the letter.

"Eh, he's all right; I've kissed better," Seamus replied with a shrug.

"He's not the worst by far though," Ron remarked. "I mean have you SEEN Crabbe and Goyle at it in the halls?" Seamus nodded genuinely.

"Hey Seamus, Ron," Dean said as he and Ginny sat down. "What are we talking about?"

"Nothing," Ron and Seamus replied at the same time and perceptibly scooted away from each other. Dean looked puzzled and Ginny giggled. Neville sat down after that and Ron and Seamus gave up any attempt at continuing their conversation.

Harry led Ron and Hermione down to where his father was staying. Both could tell that he was nervous. He was constantly adjusting his glasses and pressing his fringe down against his forehead.

"Are you okay Harry?" Hermione asked in her motherly tone.

"I'm fine," he mumbled. Just then they arrived at the door and Harry knocked. Moments later, James was at the door and smiling broadly.

"Come in. Come in." He ushered the Trio in and had them sit down in his living room. "Do you want anything to drink?" he asked. He looked as nervous as his son and alternated between adjusting his own glasses and ruffling his hair.

"Have the two of you ever noticed that you have similar nervous habits?" Hermione asked with an amused tone to her voice.

"What?" James and Harry said at the same time. James ruffled his hair at the same time as Harry flattened his fringe.

"Well, when you're nervous you adjust your glasses and fix your hair. Mr. Potter, you ruffle yours and Harry flattens his fringe over his scar," Hermione explained easily. Harry thought that it was just like her to notice something like that.

"My father used to comb his flat with SleekEezy when I was a kid. Nothing else would keep it down. Apparently it's a Potter family trait." James twiddled his thumbs nervously. Then, someone knocked at his door. He shot up to answer it with a "Wonder who that could be…"

"Sorry to interrupt," Severus drawled from the doorway. Then he started a hushed conversation with James that the teenagers couldn't hear.

"Harry, I thought they were supposed to be adversaries," Hermione noted. There was a questioning tone to her voice.

"Oh, um, it's really hard to explain," Harry muttered sheepishly. "I'm still not even sure what's going on between the two of them." Hermione nodded but she didn't look away from James and Severus who both looked rather serious.

Then, abruptly as he came, Snape left. "What was that all about?" Ron wondered loudly.

"I'm going to be assisting Severus tomorrow in class. He's going off to tell Professor McG right now." James smiled and then glanced at his watch. "Ah, dinner should be here momentarily. Let's go to the table." And they did.

"So, how are you all doing in your classes?" James asked in what he thought was a fatherly way.

"Average," Ron replied.

"Except Potions. We suck at Potions," Harry added. "Well, except Hermione. She excels at everything." Ron nodded his agreement and Hermione blushed.

"Do any of you play Quidditch?" James asked. He was far more interested in the answer to this question.

"Me and Harry do," Ron replied. "He's a brilliant Seeker." Ron smiled broadly.

"Ron's a fair Keeper," Harry pointed out.

"Are either of you on the house team?" James asked enthusiastically. Hermione, who usually steered clear of Quidditch conversations to begin with, was unnaturally devoid of any sighs. If the boys had paid any attention they would have noticed she had her deep in thought face on.

"Both of us are," Ron replied smugly.

"How long have you been on the team?"

"I started in first year," Harry replied with an embarrassed tone.

"You must have been the youngest Seeker in what, a century?" James questioned proudly. "You really must be my son!"

"I just made the team last year and I'm pretty much rubbish but I'm the best they could get," Ron said, modestly.

"The only reason you weren't on the team sooner was we had Wood and then the bloody Triwizard Tournament," Harry remarked. "And you're really good when you're confident. You have to stop over-thinking, Ron!" Harry, who had been made captain of the Gryffindor team that year, was constantly giving Ron the same speech.

"I know. Focus more on the fact that I can catch it than whether or not I will catch it," Ron repeated sullenly.

"You have been doing a lot better this year, Ron. I think you're more confident," Harry replied. "Or maybe it's just the fact that I'm an excellent captain." Harry smirked at his best friend.

"You're captain?! That's great!" James smiled his biggest smile. "Tell me when your first game is; I'd love to see it."

"It should be a sight to see," Ron remarked. "Gryffindor vs. Slytherin."

"They still do that?" James said with a wistful look in his eye. It's hard for anyone to believe that after they leave a school the same traditions keep on going. James could hardly imagine the first Gryffindor-Slytherin match without him playing in it. He couldn't wait, however, to see it.

"Did you see in the paper about Sirius the other day?" Harry asked his father when they were done talking Quidditch. "Apparently he's alive." Harry only knew this because Hermione had shown him and Ron the article.

"I didn't need to but yes, I read it." James smiled widely.

"What do you mean you didn't need to?" Harry looked affronted.

"Oh, well, the day he was brought back Moony, Severus and I spent the day together and then we all spent some time catching up a little. I'm sure he would have seen you if he could but Dumbledore didn't want the students spotting him and then he and I got into a fight." James gave his son an apologetic look.

"That's all right," Harry calmed down a little. He had a hand clenched into a fist under the table though.

"Would you like for me to invite him over so you could say hi? I'm sure Moony wouldn't mind relinquishing him for a few hours if it were to see you. Besides, Padfoot and I are long overdue for a fistfight." James smiled charmingly at his son. "But, by no means do I advocate violence as a problem solver," James said in a mock-scolding voice.

"That would be nice," Harry replied. "You could invite Remus too. It's been awhile since I've seen him."

"Tomorrow or the day after?" James asked.

"Tomorrow's fine." Harry smiled a little. He really missed his godfather. Something told Harry that Sirius would help get him used to his father being around. Although, admittedly, Harry was growing more accustomed to his father after tonight. James and Ron got on quite well and he and Hermione didn't seem to mind each other. Another positive was that they had something common to talk about: Quidditch.

"How is Sirius?" Hermione asked. "Did your fight ever end?" Her questions pulled Harry out of his thoughts and he found himself concerned about the answers.

"He's fine. He's more gaunt looking than when I last saw him but I've been informed that he spent the majority of my absence in Azkaban so it's understandable," James addressed the first question. Then he moved on to the second. "We made up rather quickly, even for us. Although, we never could stay mad at each other for long. Actually, we make up faster when we had a legitimate reason to be mad. He and I, we like to fight over stupid, nonsensical things." James smiled at the memories of all their fights. They all seemed so pointless but they were amusing. That's all that counted, as far as James was concerned.

"I noticed that you and Professor Snape were acting nearly amicably with each other. I was always under the impression that the two of you didn't get along," Hermione pointed out once again. James couldn't help but think of Lily Evans when she spoke. The problem was that Lily Evans was only a vague concept in his brain; a name tied to a few memories and nothing more.

"We're human beings," James replied easily. Everyone seemed concerned with their relationship so James had come with a decent excuse that didn't give too much away. "We can't have a two-dimensional relationship of mutual enmity." James felt like Remus, or Sirius, or even Severus as he said this. All the big words fit better in any of their mouths. He and Peter had always been the two who looked at each other in confusion when Sirius and Remus would go on talking like that for hours. Of course, the two usually had the vague impression that they didn't want to know what the two canines had been talking about, especially as they grew older and the canines' relationship had gotten more complex.

Hermione, it seemed, was taking mental notes on all of James' responses. She nodded, her eyes filled with her concentration on the subject. "What are these emotions that add the third dimension?" Hermione asked craftily.

"Ah, well, you see, I'm not even sure," James ruffled his hair unthinkingly.

"Hey Harry, why does she have that look?" Ron asked in a whisper. She seems to have her deep in thought face going."

"She's being nosy; trying to get all the facts, as usual." Hermione heard this (James, thankfully, didn't) and shot Harry a pointed look. It was one that said 'I'll do what I want, thanks'.

Dinner ended shortly after that, the look never leaving Hermione's face. As he was showing them out, James said to Harry, "Tomorrow night, same time?" Harry nodded and the Trio all waved as they left.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Bonjour my duckies! Welcome to the long-awaited chapter six! I apologize for the fact that it took me so long; I have no excuses except my own procrastination on this AND my homework. Anyways, I ADORE everyone who takes the time to review. It really makes me feel special. And everyone who has put this on their alerts list is super appreciated too. Seriously, you guys are the rockingest (even if Word says it's not a word; what does Word know anyways?). OOOH OOOH! I can tell you more ships now! Aren't you excited? So you know James/Sevy, Remie/Siri but you didn't know (though could have guessed) Hermione/Viktor. Just for the record, I don't exactly have Ginny and Luna paired with anyone. Admittedly they're minor characters so it doesn't matter that much. I don't plan to pair Luna with anyone but if you all have any suggestions for Ginny, I'd be happy to take them. Con, my refulgent beta, didn't see any glaring mistakes but if you do, tell me. I need to know these things! Brucey, another of my avid pre-readers and best friends, was a little disappointed with the ending but Con liked it and said it was my style. I said that I'd appease Brucey in the next chapter so you all who want the same thing she wants (trying REALLY hard not to spoil anything…) can thank her. Lastly, this is the amazing debut of the Huphulpuphphurz. A better description (than the one I give in the story because they're more minor characters) can be found on my profile. Check it out if you haven't already!

**DISCLAIMER:**** I don't own Harry Potter; if I did Chef Paolo (what me and Con recently named my puder) wouldn't be so slow… or get as many pop-ups.**

"SIRIUS!" Harry cried and hugged his godfather upon seeing him. Sirius smiled widely.

"Hey Harry!" Sirius cried enthusiastically. Harry noticed that his godfather looked a lot happier than he'd ever seen him. "Did you know Prongs is alive?" Sirius asked in a stage whisper. Harry laughed.

"Who said I was alive?" James looked around angrily. "I want to know so that I can beat them up."

"So Harry, got a girlfriend yet?" Sirius asked raising his eyebrows.

"I had one last year, Sirius," Harry said in a 'duh' tone. "I don't want one now."

"Smart move; women are troublesome." Sirius nodded.

"How would you know, Padfoot? You're into men," James pointed out.

"SHOOSH! Young Harry doesn't know that!" Sirius cried and clamped his hands around Harry's ears.

"He told me the other day," Harry replied and pried his godfather's hands off his ears.

"Besides, I'm not into men; I'm into one man. Singular. And, I had enough experience with women before I found the guy for me that you really can't say that I don't know what I'm talking about." Sirius stuck out his tongue to emphasize his argument.

"You know Black, the way you act it's a wonder more people don't know how much of a mutt you really are," Snape drawled.

"SEV!" James cried happily and ran to the man in his doorway.

"Had I known you had company I wouldn't have stopped by just now," Severus said with distaste.

"Oh, Harry and Padfoot just need to catch up; I don't even really need to be here," James replied off-handedly.

"You really trust Black and your son alone?" Severus raised an eyebrow. Harry scowled and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Harry can keep Padfoot in line," James replied assuredly. "And I do trust my son." Harry smiled slightly at that. It was good to hear his father say something positive about him. Harry was really getting used to this whole 'being a son' thing.

It was the first quidditch game of the season. Students headed down to the Great Hall early for breakfast to try and catch the teams. They did. The Slytherin and Gryffindor tables were especially boisterous. Everyone, even _Filch_ was excited for the match that day. Yeah, it was that big of a deal.

The High Table was abuzz with teachers talking about how rowdy the game was going to get. At the Gryffindor table everyone crowded around the team wishing them luck. The Ravenclaws were debating which house had a better strategy. Hufflepuffs were animatedly arguing about who would have the play of the game. The Slytherin table was full of activity with its dirty chant competition.

Soon the teams had to head to the locker room (for Merlin knows what sort of pre-game rituals) and the Great Hall quieted down some. It wasn't exactly weekday morning quiet but it was quieter than when the teams had been there. That didn't last long, however, because everyone started heading down to the pitch soon after.

"Hey Sev, how good are the teams?" James was bouncing excitedly; it had been quite awhile since he'd last seen a quidditch game.

"They're the two best teams in the school," Severus replied in his excited voice. Only James would have really noticed a difference in the tone but that was how Severus liked it. "Slytherin vs. Gryffindor is always a good match." Severus was one of the few teachers that didn't mind the dirty tactics the two teams sometimes used against each other.

"Who's the favorite to win?" James asked with interest clear in his eyes.

"Gryffindor," Severus replied dryly. "Your son inherited your athletic prowess among other things." Snape looked displeased by the thought.

"Why don't you two like each other?" James inquired, momentarily distracted.

"He reminds me of a young you," Snape replied, scowling at visions of the past only he could see.

James grabbed Severus' hand. "You're going to see in him what you want to see," James said softly. "You see all Gryffindors like you saw them twenty years ago and that's why you don't get along with them. Just look at them as students; they all deserve an equal opportunity to learn."

"Since when do you understand psychology," Severus frowned at having been read like a book.

"You live in a place full of shrinks for 9 years and you learn a little bit about psychology." James shrugged.

James and Severus sat down next to each other in the teachers' stands and, before long, James forgot their deep conversation in favor of the excitement over the match.

"Welcome to the first quidditch match of the season! I, the Mysterious Hugging Hufflepuff, am the new announcer since Lee Jordan graduated." The Hufflepuff listed off the players' names as they onto the pitch.

The balls were released and the quaffle was thrown. "And Zabini nabs the ball. He's racing towards the hoops but OH! He's knocked by a Bludger and Spinnet takes possession for Gryffindor!" The announcer, who James could see was a blonde fifth year girl, was very enthusiastic. Professor McGonagall had to rein her in from time to time because she was often distracted by her friends next to her.

"And Masters gets the ball back! He passes it to Zabini! Ron Weasley dives for the save but the Quaffle brushes his fingertips and Slytherin scores! 10-0 Slytherin!" The green and silver crowed exploded with cheers. A smile flicked across Snape's face. Then, the winner of that morning's cheer competition started a round of her cheer with a smirk.

"DRAAAAAAACO MAAAAAAALFOY!" Ariana started.

"TAKES IT UP THE ARSE!" the rest of the Slytherin crowd replied. The Slytherin Seeker, who most had been ignoring up until this point, looked extremely angry.

"Oh my, the Slytherins are inventive today!" the announcer said through her giggles. "Turtle and Conscience, our in-the-stands correspondents will be interviewing them momentarily."

"Which is to say that we'll be when we get the initiative to make our way over to the stands," Turtle put in her two cents.

"Brucey's making us move! That's mean!" Conscience could be heard whining near the magic microphone. Brucey, the main announcer who liked to hug people, continued her commentary while the two other Hufflepuffs made their way into the student sections. Suddenly, the image of a short, brunette Hufflepuff amid a sea of Slytherins appeared on the scoreboard next to the scores. "And now to Conscience in the Slytherin stands!" Brucey called as Blaise Zabini and Ginny Weasley got into a tussle over the Quaffle and Madame Hooch stepped in to stop it.

"Conscience here with Ariana Morrow, the leader of Slytherin's inventive new chant. So, Ariana, what inspired your cheer?" Conscience was acting like those interviewers you see on news shows.

"Well we were having a dirty chant competition and it just came to me! I won, of course." Ariana smiled proudly.

"And why exactly did it come to you?" Conscience asked as if she wasn't inquiring about a dirty cheer.

"Well, I guess I just wanted to piss Draco off," Ariana shrugged. "Plus, it was hilarious. Did you see how red he got? And he's pretty pale so even him turning pink is a lot of work but he was _red_ with anger."

"It was quite entertaining to see him look like a blond tomato," Conscience admitted.

"An attractive blond tomato," the last of Brucey's friends said into her microphone. Conscience nodded quickly.

"Anything else you'd like to say about your cheer?" Conscience turned back to Ariana.

"Well, the runner up in the competition plans to start his cheer too. I think it has something to do with Japan raping China. I know I voted for him in this morning," Ariana replied.

"All right, yes, all SPACE right, we're going to go to Turtle who is braving the Gryffindor stands before the time-out over the Quaffle tiff is over. Turtle?" The screen switched to an uncomfortable looking blonde Hufflepuff surrounded by red and gold.

"Turtle here, squished in the Gryffindor stands because I lost the game of rock-paper-scissors. I'm standing here with Seamus Finnegan who admits that he really does take it up the arse. He also shares a dorm with two of today's Gryffindor players: Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. So Seamus, what are your thoughts on the match today?"

Seamus' painted face appeared on the screen next to Turtle's. "Well, Ron's playing really well today. I can tell he practiced a lot over the summer and he's come back better than ever. The only reason Zabini got that Quaffle in was because he was being a sneaky Slytherin," Seamus glared at the thought of the green and sliver wearers. "I did think that Slytherin girl's cheer was pretty funny though. If Malfoy's looking for some action he can come to me." Seamus winked at the screen. The Slytherin in question looked a little red from anger where he stood in the middle of a Slytherin huddle.

"One would assume by his anger at that statement and the many, many females he's sucked face with that he's into chicks," Turtle defended. "But that's just this reporter's opinion," she hurriedly covered.

"Oh, I'm sure he is," Seamus replied sadly. "But it doesn't mean we can't have a little fun with him. Besides, we're just making Harry's job easier." Seamus smirked. The scoreboard then switched down to the field where an average height brunette Hufflepuff was standing with a microphone.

"Hello, I'm Countless and I'm the On-the-Field interviewer!" Countless smiled at the crowd. "Because we have time before the time-out is over they sent me down here to interview some players. Let's start with the Gryffindor team." She walked over to the crowd in scarlet and they all turned to her.

"What's up?" Harry asked, acting like a captain and voicing the thoughts of his team.

"I'm here to interview you all. Did you know that you're attractive?" As she asked this, Countless addressed the whole team. They all gave her strange looks.

"Why would you ask something like that?" Ron shouted from the crowd.

"Because it's true," Countless replied seriously. They all continued looking at her oddly and she moved on to the Slytherins.

"What do you want?" Draco, the captain, asked.

"I'm your interviewer. Did you all know you're attractive?" Countless smiled pleasantly as she asked this.

"Of course!" the whole team shouted at her.

"Well as long as you know. Now it's back to you, Bruce." Countless waved and the scoreboard went back to showing the score and showing the action of the game, which was, at the moment, Madame Hooch shouting at Zabini and Ginny Weasley about their little fight.

The game started up again quickly and action resumed right away. The Quaffle went back and forth between Gryffindor and Slytherin, neither of which could score on the other team's Keeper. James was on the edge of his seat the whole game.

An hour later the score was 20-10 Slytherin when Bruce excitedly shouted, "THEY'VE SPOTTED IT! THE SEEKERS HAVE SPOTTED THE SNITCH!" Everyone, in the stands and in the game, looked towards the two Seekers and all but their motion halted. The two were neck and neck both stretching for the snitch and flattening themselves to their brooms. The whole crowd waited with bated breath when Harry pulled mere inches ahead and captured the snitch, still going full speed towards a wall. He pulled to a halt quickly as he held his hand aloft, snitch glistening inside. The entirety of the people present exploded into cheers or moans of despair.

All of the announcers conducted final interviews with the players and the Gryffindors left the pitch with the team on their shoulders while the Slytherins patted their teams backs apologetically and consolingly.

Ariana, who was walking with Draco and Blaise, both of whom were not at all happy campers, remarked, "At least you'll get to cream Hufflepuff in your next game."

"But the Hufflepuffs are pushovers ever since Diggory left their team," Draco remarked dejectedly.

"Which means that Blaise will score masses of points and you'll catch the snitch with time to spare. In fact, you could probably wait until we have a couple hundred points before catching it." Ariana smirked at them.

"Good point. Zabini, help me set up the plays so that we can annihilate the Hufflepuffs in our next match," Draco said, all business.

"We'll have to wait until we see the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff game to finalize plans," Blaise replied, equally as business-like.

"You boys are so simple-minded!" Ariana cooed as she ruffled their hair affectionately.

"ARI!" the boys cried angrily. Neither liked his hair to get mussed.

"Whoops!" She cried and darted off as they chased after her.

Ariana was patrolling the corridors a few nights later, humming a cute song to herself. She was in a particularly deserted corridor when she burst out into dance. This wasn't just any dance either; it was the Macarena. She was shouting (rather than singing) her version of the song and doing the swively hip bit when two people ran into her at once and she was knocked flat on her butt.

"Ouch! Who goes there?" She asked and immediately jumped up, arms akimbo.

"Sorry Ari, my bad," Blaise said sheepishly.

"I wasn't watching where I was going; sorry Rini," Harry replied at the same time.

"AHA! I have found the evildoers!" Ariana shouted triumphantly. "Now, how to punish the two of you." Ariana put a finger to her chin to signify deep thought. She then got a brilliant idea. "Joint detention."

"What?" they both looked perplexed.

"You two shall have joint detention." She smiled and whipped out her notepad, which was reminiscent of a police ticket book and started scribbling furiously. "You jointly angered me and you shall be jointly punished," she said with a malicious grin.

"You have ulterior motives," Blaise said decidedly. Harry looked a little stunned. Being the naive Gryffindor he was, Harry had believed her excuse.

"So what if I do? Nothing you can do to stop me!" Ariana smirked, waved and walked away. A moment later she turned back to the two boys, who were still stationary due to being stunned, and added, "Professor Snape will inform you of the date and time of your detention at a later date… or we'll owl it. I'm not quite sure."

"I have detention with Blaise Zabini!" Harry wailed to Ron and Hermione later that night in the common room.

"It won't be so bad," Ron replied lazily. He was leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling. "He's pretty good looking."

"Is that honestly all you think about, Ronald?" Hermione asked, frustrated with him.

"Don't you think he's good looking too?" Ron let his chair fall so he could look at Hermione disbelievingly.

"That is entirely besides the point." Hermione sounded fierce but a blush crept across her face that said she agreed with Ron's observation.

"Still, he's a Slytherin. And we got the Detention from Rini Morrow too. Which means that I'll be stuck in the dungeons with a bunch of Slytherins for the detention." Harry was so much in despair that he let his head fall back and stared at the ceiling for a while. Ron and Hermione spent this time arguing who was the most attractive boy in Hogwarts.

James was watching Severus grade papers. It was interesting to see Snape pouring over someone else's work. James had only ever seen him look so dedicated when doing his own essay or exam but here he was, meticulously grading other people's essays and exams.

"Do you get that close to the paper out of necessity or your own free will?" James asked with an amused smile playing across his face.

"Why do you ask?" Severus drawled as he lazily lifted his gaze to James.

"Well you do spend most of your time in poorly lit dungeons." James waved his hand vaguely. "If you need reading glasses then you should wear them. I wear my glasses no matter how terrible they make me look. And I have to wear them all the time!" James chuckled.

"Your glasses don't make you look terrible," Severus said as he looked back down at whatever he was grading.

"Hiding a blush, Sev?" James smirked and Severus shot him a weak glare. "I hit the nail on the head then."

"Don't you have someone else you can bother? Black, your son, anyone?" Severus asked wearily.

"Just you," James smiled broadly. "No one else is as fun to bug."

"I feel honored," Snape replied dryly.

"Are you almost done with that?" James gestured toward the paper.

"Yes," Severus replied. "I would be finished by now if you didn't keep interrupting me." Severus shot him a pointed look. James pouted but kept quiet while Snape finished grading.

"What did you want in the first place?" Severus asked. "You just came in here, noticed I was grading and plopped yourself atop that table."

"I was hoping we could spend some time together tonight," James shrugged. Severus sighed and motioned for James to follow him.

"So this is where you live," James remarked as he looked around him. Severus nodded and hung up his robes on the door. He was left wearing his usual black outfit.

James surveyed Severus' living quarters. He had a sitting room that had a couch, a chair, a coffee table and a number of bookshelves, each filled to the brim. There was a large fireplace for Flooing and a hallway off to one side. Just past the hallway was a small dining table and a few cabinets along with a small brewing station.

"I assume you have a better laboratory than just that," James gestured to the brewing area.

"It's across the hall from my classroom, right next to my office," Severus replied bitterly. "That's just for when I want something but don't want to leave my private quarters." James nodded.

"Is your lab nice?" James asked.

"Nice enough for a Potions Master at a school," Severus replied. "You can sit you know." He almost snapped as he watched James fidgeting nervously.

James sat on the couch and, though Severus sat on the same piece of furniture, he sat at the other end.

"We're making progress," James said and scooted next to the Potions Master. James took his hand and started tracing patterns on it. "Why does it feel like we're kids again, going on a first date?" James asked, staring at their hands.

"Because we haven't seen each other in so long." Severus used his free hand to pluck an invisible piece of lint off his couch.

"Maybe that's it," James muttered. He was off in his own little world. "Why can't I remember, Sev?"

"Remember what?" Severus asked.

"Stupid things. Like my wife. Or what my son was like as a baby. Or even my childhood. All I know for certain were the years I spent in school. Everything with you. All my friends. Why can't I remember anything else?" James ranted.

"You remember most of the important things," Severus controlled and held James' hands in his own consolingly. "Isn't enough to remember the important things?" James sighed.

"I suppose. It's just hard not to know stuff about myself. I feel like you and Padfoot and Moony know more about me than I do and it's… painful not to remember," James explained.

"Just let it be, James. It's remarkable that you got some your memory back at all after so many years." Severus turned James' hands over and began tracing his own patterns on them. "So many people want to forget parts of their past, James. Consider yourself lucky that you did." Severus gave James a small smile.

"I'd trade with them any day. I want my memories back; all of them."

"Ron, are you okay? You look a little pale," Hermione inquired one day at breakfast. Harry noticed he also looked a little green. It was uncharacteristic of Ron to ignore a meal, even if he was a little queasy.

"Yea, I'm fine," he squeaked out. His two best friends didn't buy it for an instant.

"You are not fine, Ronald," Hermione scolded. "You haven't even touched your breakfast."

"You look like you're dying, mate," Harry replied before taking a bite of egg. He was still a little upset about his detention with Slytherins so he wasn't exactly putting in his best effort at consoling his best friend.

Ron paled more, if that was even possible, and Hermione sighed loudly. "Ronald Weasley you will tell us what's wrong right now," Hermione said in a voice that was reminiscent of Mrs. Weasley.

"Well they guy I fancy wants to snog me tonight. Of course, I just had to get known for my reputation as the one snog guy. This is terrible!" Ron put his face in his hands. And then he shot back up. "I just thought of it! I could say that I decided to date Harry! That would work; then I couldn't snog him!"

"No," Harry said.

"But Harry," Ron pouted.

"That's disgusting. I said no." Harry took a bite of his bacon with a note of finality. Ron slumped down, defeated.

"I could tell them I'm bi and say I'm going with you now, Hermione!" Ron brightened up again.

"I have a boyfriend, Ronald," she reminded him.

"They don't need to know that!" Ron cried and waved it off.

"The majority of the girls' tower knows I'm seeing Viktor," Hermione replied dryly. "I really don't think it would work." Ron slumped again and stared dejectedly at his porridge.

By the end of lessons that day, Hermione was the only one of the Trio who was in anything that even vaguely resembled a good mood. Ron was thoroughly scared witless for his make-out-fest that night. Harry had received the time and place for his detention; it was that night after dinner.

"Would you two cheer up? It's not that bad," Hermione tried to coax them out of their respective funks. "Harry, you're going to be with Ariana Morrow; she's about as unSlytherin as Slytherins get! And Ron, just refuse! Say that you can't do it because of conflicts of interest. Or you could just make-out with him and let it be. Maybe you'll get over him and move on to somebody new."

"'Mione, you're not helping," Ron wailed.

"For once, Ron's right," Harry replied with a grimace.

"HEY!" Ron cried and shot a weak glare at Harry, who smirked.

The Trio did their homework, ate dinner and went their separate ways.

"Welcome to detention, my minions," Ariana cackled evilly. Standing before her were a bored looking Blaise and a scared looking Harry. "Tonight you will sit and be away from your friends! That is your punishment."

"Ari, you are my friend," Blaise sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I may have overlooked that little tidbit," Ariana mused and put a finger to her nose in thought. "But I do annoy the crap out of you when I want." She then smiled maliciously. Blaise's head fell into his hands.

"Noooooo!" he wailed. "Draco let you have sugar, didn't he?" Blaise looked through the gap between his fingers at her.

"Yep! He knew he didn't have to deal with me tonight." Ariana smiled triumphantly.

"So, what exactly are we supposed to do?" Harry finally plucked up the courage to ask.

"You entertain each other?" Ariana guessed. "I don't know. Your only punishment is being somewhere you don't want to be with company you don't particularly enjoy." She shrugged. "I suppose I should have brought Scrabble or Monopoly, huh?" Blaise gave her a questioning look and Harry gave her a curious look.

_How on earth does a pureblood know about those muggle games?_ Harry thought.

"Muggle games, Blaise," she replied to his questioning look.

"I'm shocked your parents haven't disinherited you yet." Blaise shook his head at her.

"What my parents don't know won't hurt them," she replied with a mischievous face. Blaise rolled his eyes as if this was nothing new (which it wasn't). "All right you two, converse." Ariana ordered.

"Well, you're better company than she's going to be," Blaise shrugged. Harry nodded. "Aren't you going to say anything?" Harry shook his head. "What's wrong with you? Entranced by Ari's beauty? Trust me; you're not her type."

"She's not mine," Harry replied quickly.

"What is your type?" Blaise raised an eyebrow. He stared almost hungrily at Harry.

"Not female," Harry replied quietly. Blaise smirked.

"I'm going to have fun tonight."

"Keep it in your pants, Blaise. We don't want anything crude happening or Professor Snape will have my head." Ariana said as she flicked a page in her book.

"Hey Ron," Seamus greeted as he entered the Room of Requirement.

"Hermione said that I should just tell you that I can't do this due to a conflict of interest, whatever that means," Ron said quickly before Seamus could get anywhere near him.

"And when did you start taking orders from Hermione?" Seamus asked almost harshly.

"It was a suggestion to help me out of a dilemma!" Ron cried, letting the frustration that had built up that day out.

"Don't defend her, Ron. She's always bossing you about." Seamus had been getting progressively closer to Ron. Ron was keeping at least five feet between them at all times.

"I don't listen to her when she's being bossy!" Ron defended. "And I can defend her if I want! She's practically my sister!"

"What, is she going out with one of your brothers?" Seamus raised an eyebrow.

"I meant that I consider her a sister just like I consider Harry a brother." Ron couldn't help it; his foot kept going into his mouth. Of course, Seamus' troublesome questions and opinions weren't helping any.

"Look, you know why I came here. Let's not stall anymore," Seamus said, cutting to the chase.

"No, let's continue stalling. I like stalling," Ron replied shakily as Seamus advanced toward him and he backed clumsily away.

"Do you do this every time?" Seamus quirked an eyebrow amusedly.

"NO! Just when my whole world is going to come crashing down on me!" Ron scowled.

"How is your whole world going to come crashing down on you?" Seamus asked seductively. Ron clenched his hands into fists.

"THIS COULD BE AWKWARD IN THE DORM!" Ron roared, ecstatic at having finally found a proper excuse.

"What are you talking about?" It was Seamus' turn to scowl.

"Well, see, I've never made out with someone in our dorm before. I've made out with guys in different years or different houses but the only choices in our dorm are you or Harry. Kissing Harry would be disgusting. That leaves you; I don't want it to be awkward. What'll Dean and Neville think?" Ron was making all of this up on the fly.

"How would it be awkward?" Seamus looked curious.

"Haven't you ever kissed some guy once and then gone to class the next day and it was all awkward between the two of you?" Ron tried to explain as best he knew how.

"I only kiss if I mean it," Seamus replied.

"Then what the hell are you trying to kiss me for! You know my reputation!" Ron spluttered. This was getting scarier by the minute.

"I must admit, I was curious to see if the rumors were true. And then I wanted to prove everyone wrong and find you a terrible kisser. Then I realized I was jealous." Seamus had Ron backed against a wall and he was steadily approaching.

"J-jealous of w-what?" Ron stammered, getting a little more uncomfortable and a little more nervous with every step Seamus took.

"Them. Any and every guy you made out with." Seamus continued to move closer and closer. Ron was starting to lose his head.

"Get it together, Ronald! You've faced down giant spiders, your mum and attack brains! You can do this!" Ron psyched himself up. He didn't realize it was out loud at first.

"Are you okay, Ron?" Seamus asked concernedly. "Because you're acting crazy."

"I'm fine," Ron squeaked. "Just a little tense is all. It's been a long day."

"A little tense? You're talking to yourself! And contradicting everything I say!" Seamus started pacing. "I come here to tell you what I feel--" Ron snorted disdainfully here, "--and all you can do is run around nervous! At first I thought Dean or someone told you what I was going to do and now I'm just not sure. God dammit Ron!"

"Tell me what you feel," Ron laughed derisively. "Somehow I think you're panicking and just want me to make out with you!"

"Why would I do that?" Seamus looked actually confused. "I may be a teenage boy but, if you haven't noticed, I don't have a record like _yours_."

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Ron shouted defensively. "I'm a kid; I'm trying to have fun when I can. I know that this June, like every other one before it, I'm going to have to help Harry out of some unfortunate mishap with Voldemort. I have to do _something_ to keep myself sane and acting like the sixteen-year-old I am!"

"So you don't want a committed relationship," Seamus looked a little deflated. "I'll go then. I guess I was just being stupid." He shrugged and headed to the door.

"Wait," Ron said, catching his arm. "Are you serious?" Ron's eyes searched Seamus'.

"Why would I lie? It'd just cause more tension in the dorm and we _all_ know you don't want that." Seamus was scowling deeply and Ron cursed himself for doing that to Seamus.

"Well, I dunno. I guess it's hard to believe when the object of your fancy likes you back." Ron sighed and sank onto a couch that was conveniently in the room.

"Object of your…" Seamus said, deep in thought. "Wait, so _you_ fancy _me_?" He looked shocked.

"Obviously," Ron replied bitterly. "I thought it was obvious from my ranting and raving."

"Not much was obvious to be honest," Seamus replied and sat down next to Ron. "You're rather incoherent when you're upset."

"I try," Ron sighed.

"Maybe we should go back to the tower," Seamus offered wearily.

"Yeah, I'm beat. I've been stressing all day about this meeting because I thought you just wanted a quick snog and nothing else. That would've killed me." Ron smiled as they headed back to Gryffindor tower together.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: It's short; I apologize. The muses went on vacation and I just had trouble writing this… I did, however, put in the make out scene Brucey requested. Updated ships: James/Sevy, Remus/Sirius, Hermione/Krum, Ron/Seamus**

**DISCLAIMER:**** Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. Nutty isn't it, to know that I don't own a shred of this. Well, I suppose Ariana is totally mine and the Huphulpuphphurz (not in this chapter) belong to the people they're modeled after… and of course the plot is all my own. Other than that, I don't own much of anything.**

"Why are you two so smiley?" Hermione asked, confused but amused, when Ron and Seamus entered the common room.

"No real reason," the Ron answered fairly honestly. He'd only developed that Seamus had a crush on him too. "I should get to bed; I'm dead tired." Ron yawned hugely and headed up the boys' stairs.

"Do you plan to tell me what happened, Seamus?" Hermione asked with a hint of mischief. Seamus was a little startled by the look in her eye.

"I have homework I need to finish," Seamus said quickly and headed up the dorm himself.

"Boys," Hermione muttered and shook her head before going back to her book. She was waiting to hear about Harry's detention with the Slytherins.

"Ron's my brother; he's the first family I ever found," Harry assured Blaise.

"That's what they all say… and then they get mauled by a bear," Ariana replied with a smirk.

"Would you SHUT UP!" Blaise glared at her.

"I don't know about this shut up of which you speak," she replied airily. "And anyways, I'm on a sugar-induced bout of chattiness. There's no stopping me now!" Ariana then burst out into maniacal laughter.

"I don't know her. I don't know her. If I ignore her she will disappear," Blaise chanted to himself.

"I hate to break it to you," Harry said in a stage whisper, "but I don't think that'll work." Blaise just let his head fall into his hands dramatically.

"Why don't you go bug Draco?" Blaise muttered dejectedly.

"Because he's probably off in a supply closet necking some chick," Ariana replied as if it was obvious. "He's got a lot to prove after that quidditch game." She smirked at her chant.

"Didn't you two get into a fight about that?" Blaise asked her, forgetting his dejection and despair.

"Briefly but then I distracted him with a pretty female and he forgot all about it." She smiled brightly.

"Which female?" Blaise asked. "There are so many," he added to Harry, who nodded.

"Wednesday afternoon, I think?" Airana shrugged. "To heck if I know. She was the tall brunette Ravenclaw. I cannot _believe_ I subjected my best friend to the horror of a Ravenclaw." She shuddered. "Of course as long as she's hot, Draco doesn't really care."

"Too true," Blaise replied with a sigh. "Sometimes I wonder how shallow he really is."

"What do you mean? He's a shallow as they come!" She cried.

"Sometimes I think it's all a ruse to draw away from what he truly finds attractive in a girl." Blaise replied with a weird look in his eye.

"I'm missing something," Harry remarked. "Definitely missing something."

A half hour later, Harry was back, safe and sound, in Gryffindor tower.

"How did it go?" Hermione asked, looking up from her book. It was a muggle paperback, though very long.

"Not too terribly," Harry admitted as he sank onto the couch next to her. "The Slytherins were actually civil."

"What did you expect? Ariana Morrow is nothing if not civil towards all," Hermione replied matter-of-factly.

"Actually, I learned that she has an unnatural hatred of Ravenclaws. The only one she can stand is her cousin and you'll never guess who her cousin is." Harry liked knowing things that Hermione didn't. It made her peeved to no end and she floundered just as much as Harry and Ron did when she made them guess.

"Cho?" Hermione asked.

"No, she hates Cho most of all. Her cousin is Luna Lovegood." Harry watched for Hermione's reaction.

"That actually makes sense," Hermione crinkled her nose in thought. "Although I believe that Ariana is a bit more sane."

"I doubt it; they're just different types of crazy." Harry looked around suddenly. "Where's Ron?"

"Asleep. He and Seamus came back all smiley and he went straight to bed. Admittedly, he's probably tired from being so jumpy today, but he could have at least filled me in." Hermione scowled.

"So Seamus was the guy he was worried about?" Harry looked a little shocked. "Actually, thinking back on it, it's kind of obvious. Just don't hurt him to terribly when you give him the third degree tomorrow morning." Harry smiled knowingly at her. "Night 'Mione."

"What happened?" Hermione asked exasperatedly. Ron had ignored her question three times already. "And don't say you don't know what I'm talking about because I've explained it three times!"

"Nothing happened!" Ron defended.

"Knowing you, I severely doubt that," Hermione replied dryly. "You're very good at making something from nothing."

"And so are you!" Ron cried.

"You two need to stop bickering. It's too early for that sort of thing," Harry said between bites of toast. He was, for the most part, ignoring his best friends in favor of reading the _Daily Prophet_. "The ministry thinks that Voldemort is hiding out near Munich or Berlin. Honestly, what could he want in Germany?" Harry shook his head.

"The Holocaust, Harry," Hermione replied as if he was silly for even asking.

"I'm sure that the British or American muggles have much better information on it considering the fact that we refuse to hide it."

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, tell me RIGHT NOW what happened or I'll tell Ginny you're being uncooperative," Hermione threatened intimdatingly. It seemed she was more interested in what was going on with Ron than she was with debating history with Harry.

"You sound like my mum," he looked a little distressed.

"Ronald! Tell. Me. What. Happened." Hermione glared at the ginger-haired male sitting across from her.

"ALL RIGHT!" Ron cried. "Seamus and I confessed we had crushes on each other," he mumbled.

"You're lucky I have excellent hearing Ronald or I would have been more forceful in making you repeat that." Hermione scowled.

"You're not shocked that it's Seamus?" He asked meekly from behind the toast he was using as a shield.

"Honestly, Ron, you act like it's the greatest mystery of the twentieth century," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"We've told you before, Ron, you're not the hardest book to read." Harry decided to jump in on that one.

"Nice metaphor usage, Harry!" Hermione cried gleefully.

"It's not like you're the only one with half a brain around here," Harry muttered.

"Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one who uses it," Hermione replied.

"Are you two going to bicker now, because I don't think I've ever seen the two of you bicker," Ron looked a little scared.

"What's up my home skillets..es," Ariana came up jubilantly. "How's it hangin'?"

Hermione blinked a couple times and replied, "Come again?"

"Oh, I was just greeting you and asking how you were," Ariana waved it off. "What I'm trying to say is usually an unimportant, trifling detail when I say it like that." They all just nodded. Ariana then noticed all the Gryffindors staring at her. "Go back to your conversations you sillies! I'm just being a nuisance!" Everyone, including the Golden Trio, heeded her advice.

"So what happened after that?" Hermione looked excited.

"Nothing," Ron replied quite honestly. "We came up to the tower and went to bed is all." 

"Together?" Ariana raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Do you even know what we're talking about?" Ron looked a little disconcerted to being questioned by two over curious females.

"Yep. Blaise told me about your little meeting with Finnegan last night in the Room of Requirement. Word gets around," Ariana just shrugged.

"No. We didn't go to bed together. I went to my bed and he went to his." Ron rolled his eyes.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiight," Ariana said.

"Have you seen my mental patient?" Draco asked a few feet down.

"Abrakadammit!" Ariana cursed under her breath. "Hide me! He's looking to exact his revenge for the hair incident this morning!" She then ducked behind a first year.

"Hair incident?" Ron wondered aloud as he looked around vaguely looking as if Ariana had really left.

"Have you seen my-- did you just say hair incident?" Draco growled. Ariana eeped almost unnoticeably behind the first year who was trembling in fear. Ariana dove under the table and crawled across to the side that Ron and Harry were sitting on.

"Rini just mentioned something about a hair incident before diving behind that first year," Ron pointed perplexedly.

"ARI!" Draco roared. She cowered at Harry's feet. The funny thing was that she was giggling at the same time. "I swear to Merlin and Salazar and all those other important dead guys that you _will _pay when I find you." The blond then stormed back over to the Slytherin table and continued his fuming.

"Whew! That was a close one!" Ariana replied as she wiggled into a seat between Harry and Ron. Hermione burst out laughing.

"What did you do to make Malfoy so mad?" She asked through her giggles.

"Ah, see, I might've put some pink dye in his shampoo. He wasn't too happy with me." She smiled sheepishly.

"Malfoy's hair pink!" Ron roared in laughter at the thought.

"That was everyone else's reaction. Draco, for some reason, just didn't see the humor in it." Ariana shrugged.

"Morning Ron," Seamus greeted as he sat down next to Hermione on the opposite side of the table from Ron, Harry and Ariana.

"Oh, good morning, Seamus," Ron looked a little flustered. His ears were starting to rival his hair in color.

"MORNING SEAMUS!" Ariana greeted loudly.

"Morning Rini," Seamus greeted her briefly. "Ron, can you meet me where we met last night during the free period between Transfiguration and Herbology?" Seamus looked a little flustered as well and seemed to be rushing things because of that.

"Oh, yeah," Ron replied. "Um, that sounds good."

"Great!" Seamus cried enthusiastically. "See you then." Seamus promptly left.

"Someone's in LOOOOOOOOOOOVE," Ariana mocked. "Oh shoot! I think Draco spotted me. Gotta roll!" Ariana then bobbed and weaved across the Great Hall and exited as inconspicuously as she could.

"That was odd," Hermione remarked.

"Somehow I think Rini thinks it's nice to bother us," Harry remarked. "She bugs her friends more than anyone else after all."

"It's a sign of endearment. Perhaps she views us as friends." Hermione seemed excited.

"What did I just agree to?" Ron asked looking a little scared.

Free period rolled around far too quickly for Ronald Weasley. He made his way nervously to the Room of Requirement. When he got there, a door was waiting for him. Seamus stood inside, fidgeting a little.

"Hey! You actually came!" Seamus looked a little shocked.

"Why wouldn't I? I said I would," Ron shook his head.

"I dunno," Seamus looked down at his feet as he said this. Then he raised his head. "Look, we didn't really solve much of anything last night so I was wondering what exactly you wanted to do." Seamus looked at Ron hopefully.

"I don't see why you're leaving this all on me," Ron muttered bitterly.

"You're the one who bounces from guy to guy!" Seamus cried. "I happen to do committed relationships, thank you."

"Well I only bounced from guy to guy because I wasn't sure I could get the guy I wanted: you!" Ron shouted.

"I don't see why you're so self-conscious. I think the only guy who's got more guys after him than you is Zabini and he's fucking perfect!" Seamus scowled at Ron.

"Oh, so you really want Zabini! I'm second on everyone's list, is that it?" Ron was not pleased to hear that news to say the least.

"No! Zabini's too perfect for me. I much prefer you," Seamus replied with a sly grin. "So, are we…er… together?" The Irish boy looked at Ron hopefully.

"I hope so," Ron replied fiercely.

"Good." Seamus nodded emphatically.

"Good." Ron repeated.

"Now what?" Seamus asked.

"You're the one that's skilled with relationships," Ron replied.

"I think we're supposed to kiss," Seamus decided.

"I wouldn't mind that," Ron said as he closed the gap between them. Their lips met and immediately started to work in synchronization. It didn't take long before Ron ran his tongue along Seamus' bottom lip. That's when their tongues tangled together. The kiss was hungry and needy. Somehow the two ended up with Ron pressing Seamus up against a wall.

Ron pulled away to let them catch their breath and then bent to kiss Seamus' neck. The were pressed quite firmly against each other now and there wasn't any room between them. That was when the groping started. One of Ron's hands was tangled in Seamus' hair and the other was on the small of his back, holding them together. Seamus had mirrored Ron in the sense that one of his hands was tangled in Ron's red hair. Seamus' other hand, however, was feeling Ron's nicely toned chest.

This lasted the rest of their free period and the two were almost late for Herbology.

"What are you talking about? Nothing happened?!" Blaise cried in outrage as he, Ariana and Draco spent their free period in an unused classroom.

"Something might be happening right now," Ariana replied with a shrug. "They're supposed to be meeting in the Room of Requirement. Hey, have you ever sucked face with one of them?" Ariana was known to jump from topic to topic randomly.

"Nope," Blaise replied. "You might be shocked to hear that I'm pretty conservative as far as dating goes."

"Draco's not," Ariana replied with a snort.

"I'm giving up time that could be spent with a very attractive girl for the two of you and all you can talk about is boys," Draco spat. "Sometimes I wonder if my time is well spent."

"Oh it is. It's our lovely company that will keep you youthful far longer than anyone else." Ariana smiled charmingly.

"Either that or it'll kill me," Draco muttered.

"You're a terrible friend," Ariana replied with a smile.

"And yet you still spend time with me. Says a lot about your character," Draco replied. Ariana stuck her tongue out at him.

"How come you don't ever just pick a girl and stick with her?" Blaise asked. He was seeing how honestly Draco would answer. Blaise was fairly certain, of course, that he knew the real answer.

"I'm just having fun. I have to marry some stuffy pureblood girl and produce an heir eventually so I want to get my fun in while I can," Draco replied.

"Not all pureblood girls are stuffy," Ariana cried in defense.

"Oh yeah?" Draco raised a challenging eyebrow. "Name one that isn't."

"Me," Ariana replied. "And if I am stuffy then shoot me now because I can't live with myself if I am."

"One good girl in a sea of hopelessness," Draco replied. "As you can see, there's a reason I'm having my fun now."

"Who cares about all that?" Blaise laid back across two desks and stared at the ceiling. "It doesn't really matter as long as they have money."

"The things your parents teach you," Ariana shook her head dismally at the two of them. "Don't you know that marriage is supposed to be about love?"

"That's a lie told to you by fairytale princesses and people with their heads in the clouds. Marriage is for advancement and advancement's sake only," Blaise replied.

"And to uphold a name and produce a quality heir," Draco added with finality.

"You two make me want to spend time with the Gryffindors; at least they believe that the good guys always win," Ariana crinkled her nose in disgust. "Hufflepuffs are hopeless romantics; maybe I'll spend time with them. And I'll bet even the bookish Ravenclaws read a romance novel every once in a while. You two are just cynical misanthropes. Why don't you go preach your pessimistic ideals to your owls," Ariana snapped, furiously.

"Ariana, don't tell me that you're delusional enough to believe those lies," Draco asked in a concerned tone.

"Of course I do!" she scowled. "You'd think my best friend for life would know that!" She could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

"Ari," Draco called softly. He seemed upset that he was hurting Ariana. Blaise just watched with cool amusement. Despite being close friends with the two he wasn't half as close as those two were. Besides, he would stand by his opinion. He didn't see why either of them was getting so worked up over this. Ariana had strong beliefs and was stubborn though so it did make some sense.

"No, Draco," she replied softly, feebly. "I can't listen to your rationalizations right now."

"Ari, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," he insisted softly. "I just didn't know you felt so strongly."

"Well you do now." She was growing angrier and less upset as time passed.

"I'm sorry," Draco apologized. Ariana was the one and only person he would apologize sincerely to every time. There was no pretending with her; Draco had no need to. Best friends since forever and for life didn't lie to each other. Not about stupid stuff.

"You mean it?" she asked vulnerably.

"Completely."

"Awww, I love when you two make up!" Blaise cheered. "It would be perfect with a kiss!" The other two just scowled at him.

"Severus," James came in directly after lessons. Snape usually didn't start grading homework until after dinner.

"What is it?" Severus was stirring a potion in the back of the classroom deliberately.

"I just wanted to… I dunno, spend time with you," James admitted. He hated how childish he sounded.

"I have potions that need tending," was Severus' cool reply.

"Well, how about after dinner?" James looked hopeful.

"Papers to grade," Snape replied.

"Severus," James whined.

The Potions Master let out a long sigh. "I don't like saying no," he admitted. "You have no idea how hard you make things for me."

"I make a lot of things hard," James remarked with a sly grin.

"You're being childish," Severus chided.

"It's one of my many quirks," James replied with a smirk.

"You really can't come up with anything intelligent on your own, can you?" Severus mocked.

"Too much work," James replied. "I just want to freaking hug you." James was thinking out loud. It was one of his many habits.

"If I weren't working on potions I would encourage you to do so," Snape replied with hardly a hint of emotion.

"Hurry up and finish your potions then!" James cried in exasperation.

"Potions cannot be hurried, James," Severus said softly.

"Haste makes waste: I know. I know." James just let his head fall in his hands. "This is all so complicated. It was easier than this when we were teenagers and hiding it from everyone. It was all unexplored territory and I didn't know how damn good it felt before it happened." James scowled.

"Erm, Professor Snape?" Draco looked hesitantly into the classroom. Ariana strode in with confident strides. "Is this a bad time?"

"It's never a bad time," Ariana replied. "It's a matter of convenience and inconvenience. We live in a fast paced world my friend."

"Too true," James hung his head solemnly. "Gone are the days of slow paced life where you could kick back and relax, stop and smell the roses, do anything you liked!"

"Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer," Ariana agreed.

"Is there anything specific you'd like, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked while carefully tending a potion.

"Um, I was just wondering if you had the new prefects schedule yet. What was going on when I came in?" Draco scrunched up his brow in confusion.

"Inquisitive one, that one," James remarked.

"I'd say nosey. But he's observant, which doesn't help matters in the least." Ariana scowled briefly.

"I was conversing with-- what is it Minerva's having you call him?-- Professor Potter," Snape replied as if it was obvious.

"I know that!" Draco cried like he did when he suspected people of treating him like a child. "I was wondering what you were conversing about. It sounded like the two of you are in some sort of _relationship_." Draco said the word like a curse word.

"You say that like commitment's a BAD thing," Ariana rolled her eyes.

"This kid is spot on with his guesses," James said before he could stop himself. Then he wondered if Severus didn't want the children knowing.

"Unfortunately; he's far too curious for his own good," Snape replied distastefully.

"Even Malfoys have flaws," Ariana nodded to prove her point.

"Shush! I told you we didn't want that getting out!" Draco played along with a playful smirk.

"Are the two of _you_ in a relationship?" James asked. Severus cringed, knowing the answer.

"No!" Draco shouted quickly.

"Silly!" Ariana added. "Draco's a commitment-phobe. And besides, it'd be weird! We've known each other our whole lives." Draco nodded to every point.

"You two sure act like a couple," James replied. Severus just shook his head.

"Hey Ron," Harry greeted his best friend.

"Hullo Harry!" Ron greeted cheerfully.

"What's with you?" Harry gave his friend an odd look.

"Just having a good day is all," Ron replied in a cheery tone.

"You look about as ridiculous as the day you came out to Hermione," Harry looked at his friend skeptically. "And then you were being ridiculously cheerful because you'd come out to me."

"I'm having a good day," Ron repeated.

"What happened?" Harry asked with a sigh.

"Why do you think something had to happen for me to have a good day?" Ron asked looking a little scandalized. If he wasn't keeping something from him, Harry would understand.

"Because you wouldn't be so ridiculous if something extraordinary hadn't happened," Harry gave his friend a pointed look. "Does it have to do with Seamus?" he asked, already practically knowing the answer.

"Yes," Ron replied with a blush.

"Well if you're going to do something explicit, close the curtains and use a silencing charm," Harry replied in a tired voice.

"What's with you?" Ron finally noticed his friend's fatigue.

"I was having scar-induced dreams last night," Harry replied reluctantly.

"That's never good," Ron replied intrigued. Harry's scar-induced dreams had saved Arthur Weasley but led to Sirius' disappearance only the year before.

"No," Harry replied, "It's not."


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I was TRYING REALLY HARD to get this out yesterday. Unfortunately, I was really busy yesterday and I still had about half left to write when I started… yeah. My reasoning for YESTERDAY is because it was SEVY'S BIRTHDAY! So, happy belated birthday to Severus Snape. Um, I had just finished Act III of Julius Caesar when I wrote the reference so that's why Marc Antony is portrayed as 'one cool dude' (I used that for an answer for questions on the reading that I had to do for English). The Amortentia was stolen from HBP for anyone who's wondering. Lots of relationship drama for you in this chapter! Also, sorry about the cheesy foreshadowing. I needed some foreshadowing and cheesy is the only way to go. Subtlety is overrated anyways.**

**DISCLAIMER:**** I don't own a gosh darn thing. If I did, well, Ravenclaws would be hated by everyone. And Julius Caesar? Yeah, Shakespeare wrote it. Don't steal. It's mean. **

Minerva McGonagall was _not_ expecting this. But then again, who expects to walk in on two school-time rivals holding hands and obviously flirting with each other? Very few people, that's who. The exact scene Minerva had walked in on was James Potter and Severus Snape sitting in James' sitting room, and both were _smiling_. Now James smiled as often as possible but Severus, he never smiled.

"Am I interrupting something?" McGonagall asked impatiently.

"Yes, you are, actually," James replied with a smirk. Severus rolled his eyes.

"What is this?" McGonagall looked a little frantic.

"A developing relationship?" James guessed.

"Old flames trying to see if things work now," Severus replied seriously.

"Are you serious?" McGonagall was hysterical.

"You always said I'd be the death of you, Professor but I didn't think you actually meant it! In fact, I heard that you're a strict non-believer in the art of Divination." James chuckled a little.

"This is the most ridiculous prank you've pulled, James Potter," McGonagall scowled at him.

"I assure you, Minerva, it's not a prank," Severus said in a quiet, calming tone.

"I'm pushing forty! What do I need with pranks anymore?" James asked. "I'm going senile! Next thing you know, I'll be amused by board games!"

"You are not pushing forty. You're thirty-six, James," Severus rolled his eyes.

"Shoosh! I'm old!" James let his head fall into his hands. "It would have been nice to die young. I wouldn't have had to bear the whole adulthood thing."

"Black has managed to avoid that one thus far," Severus replied with distaste.

"Says the man who, when he was fourteen, was going on forty," James joked.

"JAMES! EXPLAIN! NOW!" McGonagall shouted.

"Well, Sev and I dated when we were sixteen and seventeen but, once he became a Death Eater it just sort of fell apart and besides, I was putting on a show with… chick? GAH! STUPID MEMORIES! JUST DECIDE IF YOU'RE THERE OR NOT!" James smacked his forehead and scowled. "Oh yeah, just come back all at once now, would you?"

"Headache?" Severus asked quickly and caringly. James nodded so Severus produced a vial of headache potion from his robes. "Drink."

"Why would I get memories of baby Harry by hitting my head? Just Harry, by the way, and no one else." James shook his head.

"I'll send you an owl with what I planned to say," McGonagall said before turning on her heel and leaving quickly. "I must be going mad," she muttered to herself. "As if the Marauders weren't enough the Weasley twins showed up and now Harry's out there risking his life daily and James comes back from the dead and then so does Sirius. I'm surely going mad."

Minerva had, in her hysteria, wandered to the entrance to the headmaster's office. She choked out the password (_Everlasting Gobstopper_) and quickly ascended the stairs. She knocked the door and was bid to enter.

"Is something wrong, Minerva? I wasn't expecting a meeting with you tonight." Dumbledore's eyes were alight with a twinkle as always. How young those blue eyes looked. Even Harry's eyes looked older than the headmaster's sometimes.

"Am I going mad or did James and Severus just tell me that they're romantically interested in each other?" She was pacing as she asked this, afraid of the answer.

"I had wondered if you were privy to that piece of information," Dumbledore replied calmly. He was sitting like this was an ordinary visit.

"YOU KNEW?!" McGonagall whirled on the headmaster and stared angrily at him. "How long?"

"Well, I once caught them displaying affection in a normally public place during exam week their sixth year. I took a few points and sent them off in opposite directions. Why do you ask?" Dumbledore looked at Minerva over his half-moon spectacles.

"I went to tell James something about tomorrow's lesson and I saw him and Severus smiling and flirting with one another. I was obviously distressed. I still am!"

"You've no reason to be distressed, Minerva. Why don't you go and wrap your head around it tonight. We wouldn't want you acting odd during class tomorrow." Dumbledore smiled slightly before going back to whatever he'd been doing before McGonagall had burst into his office.

Harry woke sweating and cursing for the second night in a row. After years of torment from the man, Harry was hardly _afraid_ of Voldemort. He just knew that any dealings with the snaky man would leave him in the Hospital Wing for days and that never felt good.

Harry recalled the dream with vivid detail and ran through it in his mind:

_Harry stood in the Forbidden Forest and something felt wrong. He turned slowly and tried to survey the area but it was too dark to see. He heard a twig snap then a larger, more violent snapping noise followed by a long, loud scream._

_Harry ran in the direction that he heard the scream and stopped when he saw a small light and a woman kneeling at a body. Every bone in the body seemed to be violently broken as all the limbs and even the neck were bent at odd angles._

_Harry felt faint and fairly nauseous. He looked away to see if the light would allow him to see anything else but all he could see was a tree on the other side of the dead man. Harry then heard a wailing sound and he followed that._

_What stood before him, he was not sure. It wasn't a ghost for all the ghosts he'd met were friendly and not frightening in the least. This was more a muggle interpretation of a ghost. "Et tu, Brute?" it asked him and its voice was the voice of Voldemort. Cold and high, the voice asked again, "Et tu Brute?"_

Harry recalled waking up at that point. He didn't know what it meant but he did know one thing: that dream had been sent from Voldemort to get him off his guard.

It was then that Harry started wishing that he'd taken Occlumency more seriously the previous year. Perhaps Professor Snape would teach him again. He would be a far more willing student. Of course, Professor Snape probably wanted to spend all his free time with Harry's father.

Harry went back to sleep as he thought about ways to reinstate the Occlumency lessons. Every idea he came up with made it seem impossible but he was determined to try. The last thought that passed through his mind before he drifted back to sleep was, _I should talk to Dad about it_.

Harry let out a huge yawn the next morning at breakfast.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked.

"I'm fine," he replied quickly. It was best not to let her know about the dreams. She wouldn't stop pestering him until he told Dumbledore if he did.

Just then, Seamus, Dean and Ginny joined them and Hermione decided it wouldn't be polite to pursue the matter while they were there.

"Good morning, guys!" Ginny greeted. She and Dean sat on Harry's side of the table. Seamus sat between Ron and Hermione. They all returned the greeting in their own way.

Seamus and Ron started talking to each other albeit slightly awkwardly. Harry and Dean launched into a conversation about muggle vs. wizarding sports. Ginny and Hermione chatted about girl stuff.

"There's something up with Harry," Hermione muttered to Ginny.

"He looks tired," Ginny noted.

"I know he's tired. I just can't figure out why he would be." Hermione sighed in frustration. "I wish he'd tell me. I only want what's best for him!"

"Well, maybe you should give him a little breathing room. He probably has his reason for not telling you. They may not be good reasons but they're _his_ reasons and that's all that's important." Ginny gave her friend a smile. "Dean insisted we sit over here today. He said that Ron and Seamus had something they needed to talk about."

"I don't know how much Ron wants you to know but he and Seamus are sort of a couple," Hermione informed Ginny tentatively.

"Ron likes boys?!" Ginny was shocked.

"What are your thoughts?" Hermione looked a little scared.

"Well I knew that with seven of us, _one_ had to be gay. It _would_ be Ron too," Ginny shook her head in amusement. "I always thought it was going to be the twins."

"I wouldn't be shocked if they were, as well." Hermione shrugged. "Oh, Harry's gay too. We had a lovely afternoon when they dumped all this on me."

"I'll bet you were pleased," Ginny replied.

"Well, it is a relief. This way, people won't think that I can't be just friends with them. All I have to say is that they're gay and people will be like 'oh, okay'. It takes a lot of pressure off."

"James, your son wanted me to tell you that he's coming by tonight after lessons," Severus informed him that day at lunch. "He said he has something he wants to ask you opinion on."

"Why didn't he just tell me?" James frowned in confusion.

"I asked him that as well. He said that for one, you embarrass him in front of his friends and two, I see you before he does." Snape then turned to his meal and pointedly ignored everyone for the duration of it.

Right after lunch, Harry's class had Transfiguration. James wondered if he really embarrassed Harry. Of course, he didn't ask that. He just went over to Harry's desk and told him that he'd gotten Severus' message.

Professor McGonagall had been awkward with James all day. She wore a fake smile whenever he was present and she forced inane small talk between the two of them. James asked a few times whether or not she was all right. Each time she answered that she was fine and that there was no reason she shouldn't be. James just shrugged.

She asked him to stay a little bit after lessons and as soon as the last student left the classroom she asked, "Does Sirius know?"

"He was one of the first to find out," James replied. "And, in all actuality, you're one of the last to find out. Almost everyone knew last time. I told Harry." James smiled at her.

"Did Lily know?"

"If I knew who Lily was, I would tell you. Of course, thanks to my spotty memory, I can't tell you for sure."

"James… just don't break his heart," she looked at him imploringly. "He's done a lot of bad in his time but he's more than made up for it. He doesn't deserve heart break on top of that."

"I'm afraid that I already broke it once but I assure you that I never want to do it again." He held her eye contact. "I should go. Harry wants to talk to me."

"Then go. That boy needs family more than you can believe." Minerva practically shoved him out of the door.

"Okay, so I need your opinion on something kind of important," Harry said the moment James entered his rooms. "I get these weird, sometimes almost prophetic dreams from Voldemort. Last year, I was supposed to be learning Occlumency but, of course, Professor Snape was my teacher. I couldn't possibly take instruction from him at the time because I was an idiotic fifteen-year-old not that he was doing a very good job instructing anyways. We cut off the lessons because of a rather embarrassing incident and I never got very good at it. Now, I want to start up learning Occlumency again but I doubt Professor Snape will take me back as a student. What do you think?"

"Woah," James breathed. "Heavy stuff there. Let me think for a moment."

Harry was pacing and James was sitting in his favorite chair, deep in thought. There was a knock on the door. Harry answered, seeing as his father was quite lost in thought.

"Hello Professor," Harry greeted Snape.

"You're not done talking to your father?" Snape looked a little concerned.

"GO FOR IT!" James shouted at that moment.

"MERLIN! James, don't ever do that AGAIN!" Severus shouted.

"Thanks Dad, totally make it that much harder for me," Harry muttered good-naturedly.

"What is he talking about?" Snape scowled.

"Well, I've been having the Voldemort induced dreams again lately and I was wondering if you'd try teaching me Occlumency again." Harry spit all of this out quickly before he lost his Gryffindorish nerve.

"I will consider it," he drawled slowly.

"See you in class tomorrow Professor!" Harry called and left quickly.

"He says you were a shit instructor and he was a totally shit student. I think you two should try again but this time you could maybe put in an effort for me." James smiled charmingly. "I care about the kid, you know."

"I'm doing this for you and no one else," Severus replied.

"I appreciate it," James smiled. Severus sat down on the couch across from James' chair.

"I thought we'd gotten accustomed to sitting closer than this," Snape smirked slightly.

"Sorry, it's my thinking chair." James smirked back.

"So you hid your brain in a particular chair then," Severus joked.

"I didn't know you knew what a joke was!" James sat down next to Severus they just sat in silence for a while after that.

"Sev," James said after a few minutes.

"Mmm?" Snape's arm was draped over James' shoulders and his hand was running absent-mindedly through his hair. 

"Are you afraid of getting close again?" James asked.

"Why would I be?"

"Well, last time we broke on some pretty bad terms. This time I know where your allegiance lies and there's no wife in the way. You'd think we'd be even closer than we were." James' left hand rested on Severus' leg. The two weren't very close but James noted that this was the closest they'd been in over fifteen years.

"I don't want to go through that again," Severus said. "It was hard enough the first time."

"I know what you mean. But you've got to take risks to reap the benefits."

"Is that the Marauders' motto?" Severus asked mockingly.

"Naw, our motto was more on the mischievous side. I don't quite remember what it was. But we did take a lot of unnecessary risks. Like Sirius' shameless flirting with Remus. For _years_ he would blatantly flirt with Moony and then, all of a sudden, Moony got the hint and they got together. Or me giving up on pranking you and deciding that I liked snogging you more." James shrugged.

"It's a shock none of you are gambling addicts," Severus shook his head.

"Sirius was locked up, I was completely devoid of memories, Peter was a rat and Moony was too busy trying to secure a long-term job. I think we were pre-occupied." James smiled. Suddenly, he couldn't suppress the urge to kiss Severus anymore.

Their lips met briefly and then James recalled his reasons for holding back. He withdrew slightly. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment. "I missed that," Severus said. "I really missed doing that."

"Well, you can stop missing it," James smiled.

"Hey, would you two hate me forever if I dated Potter?" Blaise asked Ariana and Draco out of the blue.

"Nope. Potter's one cool dude. Like Marc Antony in Shakespeare's version of Julius Caesar." Ariana smirked at the two of them.

"I wouldn't hate you forever. I might be a little resentful because Potter put Father in Azkaban but after that I would view him as I would any boyfriend of yours." Draco shrugged.

"And how would that be?" Blaise raised an eyebrow.

"The same I would treat one of Ari's boyfriends." Draco looked at him like he was crazy.

"Any guy that comes within a five foot radius of Ari, excluding you and gay boys, gets an ultra glare from you," Blaise said. "So you're saying you'd be just as protective of me as you are of Ariana?"

"Yep," Draco replied. "Someone has to watch out for the two of you or you'll end up in terrible relationships."

"Just so you know, we're watching your relationships closely and soon we're going to start getting picky about the girls you pick." Ariana let a wide grin spread across her face. "We should so totally set him up!"

"You find the chick I'll provide the location." Blaise grinned as well.

"You two are NOT setting me up!" Draco glared at them and they froze. "In fact, we're going to talk about how Ariana finds it funny to RUIN my hair every morning."

"Sorry about that. It's just HILARIOUS." Ariana smiled. "In fact, you're the only one who doesn't find it funny. Does that mean you don't have a sense of humor?"

"No, it just means I'm more mature than the rest of the school," Draco sniffed.

"Ah, so you can dish it out but you can't take it. I should have known."

"Today, we will be observing Amortentia," Snape said the next day in Potions. "I have Ministry permission to brew it for observation purposes only. It is heavily charmed and warded so don't even TRY to take any for personal use." Ariana's hand shot into the air. "Yes Miss Masters?"

"Does Amortentia have any properties other than making people fall into lust?"

"Why do you ask?" Snape looked cautious.

"Well I just wondered what effect it would have if I added it to, say, oh, I don't know, SHAMPOO."

"NO! You are NOT putting a love potion in my shampoo! My hair would turn all gooey and love pink. Ew." Draco shot out of his seat and pointed an accusing finger at Ariana.

"Calm down and we will learn about Amortentia," Snape scowled at the both of them. "The first thing you will do is document what smells attract you."

"Why aren't you hanging out with Ariana?" Blaise asked. He and Draco were in an unused classroom during their last free period of the day.

"Because I need to talk to you." Draco was pacing the room anxiously.

"You're not going to tell me you love me, are you? Because I'm not into blonds." Blaise looked nervous.

"Apparently I am," Draco snapped.

"As long as it's alive, female and remotely attractive you'll date it." Blaise rolled his eyes.

"I've been telling myself, and everyone else no less, that I don't like her that way. Here I find out I'm in bloody love with her!" Draco was shouting near hysterically.

"Who?" Blaise asked. He was more than a little relieved to hear it was a female.

"Ariana, you dolt!" Draco spun on him. "I cannot believe it but I fell in love with her."

"Draco, you've always been in love with her," Blaise pointed out.

"Have I?" Draco looked stunned.

"Yes Draco. It's so freaking obvious!" Blaise rolled his eyes.

"I suppose I have."

"What spurred you to see it?"

"That stupid potion," Draco scowled. "It smelled just like her. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I loved her."

"Now you face the ultimate dilemma: telling her you love her." Blaise informed Draco seriously.

"I hadn't even thought about that!" he despaired.

"Severus, I've been thinking," James said seriously. Snape was concerned at the look on his face.

"What is it?"

"I want this to me more than just a trial," James proclaimed seriously.

"James," Severus chided as if he were kidding.

"Look," James made sure that Snape was looking into his eyes, "I love you. End of story; no questions asked. All this build-up is torture. I can't wait forever Sev." James looked imploringly at Severus. There was a sad look in his eye.

"It's not safe! If the Dark Lord finds out about us and then wants to threaten me, he'll kill you!" Severus looked thoroughly frightened.

"Yeah but if he realizes you're a spy, he'll kill YOU! I want us to be together while we can! Tomorrow's not guaranteed." James shook his head.

"Tomorrow's never guaranteed," Severus countered.

"Yeah but this is a war, Sev. We have less of a chance than ever." James could feel his frustration and sadness mounting.

"I don't know if I could take losing you again." Severus looked hopefully into James' eyes.

"Then protect me! Make it known I belong to you and that we're TOGETHER. If you don't acknowledge _us_ then I'm going to leave. You'll be guaranteed to lose me that way." James was angry. He hated not knowing where they stood.

"James, I'm afraid. I'm older now. My heart has been hardened by the cold world. It's hard for me to do something like this!" James could see that Severus was just as upset as he was.

"I'm not asking you to proclaim your love in the streets or even to _anyone_. All I want is to know that we're _something_ to each other." James thought that what he was asking was simple. He knew that he would take that in an instant rather than lose Severus.

"James, I'm not sure that I'm ready!"

"That how can I know if you'll ever be ready? I CAN'T. Sorry Sev. I can't take all this waiting around, not knowing _what_ we are. I just-- I'm sorry." James left. He could feel he was close to tears and, from the sound of his voice, Severus was as well. He just strode out of the room purposefully and didn't look back. He knew if he did, he would probably change his mind.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Due to massive amounts of begging and pleading, this got done. It was NOT because I got lovely reviews for the last chapter because I DIDN'T HINT!HINT! Anyways, you can thank Brucey and Blue (they were the ones begging me) and Conscience (because she's such a lovely beta). Have fun with the ending because, well, I had fun with it devious smile**

_**DISCLAIMER**__**: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. You're such silly sillies, accusing me of such a thing. I mean, really. I know I'm a great writer but that's pushing it a bit, no? It's just fanfiction my duckies.**_

James paced back and forth across the small living room of Remus' flat. Sirius sat on the couch and watched his best friend with concern.

"Are you going to tell me what happened or do I have to guess?" Sirius asked, breaking the tense silence.

"I'm stupid. A complete idiot. Pig-headed Gryffindor, he'd say. But then, he can't say it to me because I was stupid and pig-headed," James ranted.

"You and Sniv aren't together anymore?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "But you and him were as in love as me and Moony."

"We've had this conversation before," James vaguely recalled. "When I found out he was a Death Eater."

"And he found out you'd proposed to Lily to appease your mother. She did so want grandkids."

"Did she?" James paused momentarily to think about it. He found himself grasping for a memory that wasn't there-- like always.

"Sorry. There I go, breaking rules again," Sirius smirked.

"We never have been good at obeying rules." James returned the gesture.

"What happened?" Sirius asked seriously. "I want to know if I have the authority to go kick his ass as your best friend."

"You don't. I was frustrated because I just want to remember everything. I constantly find myself searching for a memory that isn't there. I hate it. And then some memories pop in and out. I just, I can't take it anymore, Padfoot." James clenched his fists in frustration.

"What does this have to do with your darling Snapey?" Sirius was trying to be helpful and supportive; he really was. He just held too much bottled up animosity toward Severus.

"Well, I was dwelling on that and growing more and more frustrated plus I'm sexually frustrated because Sev wanted to go slow and do that ridiculous trial thing again. I just got sick of being his sort-of _thing_. I told him that I wanted to be his boyfriend, of course, not in so many words, but he said he didn't think he was ready. If he's not ready now, when things are life or death everyday, when _will_ he be ready? I just, I didn't want to be stuck in that limbo any longer." James sighed deeply.

"So you're going to go find a cheap whore and sleep with him or her to release the sexual frustration?" Sirius guessed.

"It's called wanking, Sirius. It's free AND legal."

"Why'd you come here?"

"Dumbledore said I needed supervision considering my current mental condition and recommended I come here. Moony was fine with it and I figured you would be." James shrugged.

"What about Harry?" Sirius asked with concern.

"I told him I was staying with the two of you but I didn't tell him why. He just shrugged like he's used to it." James let out another sigh.

"That kid," Sirius said, his voice laced with care. "He deals with so much."

"I just want him to be happy and to like me. He seems afraid to get close." James closed his eyes wearily.

"Well, everyone around him gets hurt. The only people who stick by him no matter what, who are in any way reliable are Ron and Hermione. They're all he has, James. They're his family. He considers the Weasleys his family. Not me, not Moony, not you. The Weasleys. And Molly takes such good care of him, it's no wonder. None of the kids treat him like Famous Harry Potter. They treat him like another brother. Moony and I did all that we've done out of loyalty to you. We loved the him because he's James' kid. We worried about him because he's James' kid. I guess the Weasleys and Hermione are the only ones who love him for Harry. Not for his name, or his scar, or his parentage. They love him because he's such a great kid."

"That was truly insightful, Sirius. I didn't know you had it in you," Remus smiled from the doorway. "Good Afternoon, James. Albus told me you were coming."

"Hey Moony," James said. "I hate to impose, I really do, but I just can't be at Hogwarts right now."

"I know. My wolfish hearing heard your story." He smiled. James was relieved that Remus had such talents that came with his curse. He didn't think he could tell that story again. It was too painful and frustrating and thinking about things like that just made James even more upset.

"And you think that Sev is right, right?" James' head fell.

"No, I think that neither of you is right and both of you are at the same time. You have to do what works for you; what makes you happy. Make yourself happy, James." Remus gave a small smile.

"Moony, you make me happy. Do you want ME to make myself happy?" Sirius would have been wagging his tail excitedly were he in dog form. As it was, his wide, grey eyes stared imploringly into Remus' honey brown ones.

"Sirius, we need James to feel comfortable again."

"That's right. Marauders are for life! All for one and one for all! We're up to no good and will shout it through the halls!" Sirius recited their favorite rhyme from their school days.

"Minus Peter," Remus reminded them.

"He doesn't count anymore," Sirius added sullenly.

"He's a hanger-on. Always was. Let's not dwell on it," James implored.

"There's an Order meeting tonight at Grimmauld Place," Remus informed them.

"Isn't that where your parents live, Padfoot?" James questioned.

"Yeah, I gave their house to the Order when I was still just a wanted fugitive. See, I couldn't go out so I had to do _something_ for them." Sirius scowled.

"Welcome to back to the Order of the Phoenix, James," Dumbledore greeted when James showed up at the meeting. Everyone was milling around before they were all called to the dining room table. Remus had introduced James to everyone he didn't know. He was shocked to see Sirius' little cousin Nymphie all grown up. They all sat down.

"Where's Severus?" Kingsley Shaklebolt asked.

"He had a meeting he couldn't miss," Dumbledore said. Everyone just nodded, knowing about his gig as a spy. "Which is why we're meeting tonight, as it were. Voldemort is growing more and more active, I'm afraid.

"I have intelligence that suggests tonight's Death Eater meeting is either the preliminary for an attack or an actual attack. Of course, I won't find out much before the papers. Severus can't get away that easily. We need to talk about deterrents. Does anyone have any ideas?" Dumbledore looked around.

"We Aurors aren't doing a damn bit of good." Kingsley sighed. "I should go. I have a lot of work to do at the office. I just came to see if there was any pressing news. Tonks, keep me informed." Kingsley walked out.

"He has a lot on his plate. The minister is getting on us Aurors because we're not getting enough Death Eaters and Voldemort supporters," Tonks informed them all. "We're working like dogs round the clock for them and we've caught a few. Just not enough." She sighed. The meeting went on in this manner for the rest of the night.

Hermione was first to read the _Daily Prophet_ that day. She and Harry had a system. They split the cost and they switched off days to read it first.

"Oh my goodness," she gasped a few minutes in.

"What is it?" Harry leaned over her shoulder to try to read. She pointed out the main article and Harry read it quickly. Kingsley Shaklebolt had been found dead outside the door to his flat early that morning. He looked as the majority of his bones were broken. The paper speculated he'd fallen or jumped from the top of his building. They were claiming suicide due to the pressure the ministry was putting on the auror division of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Why do the two of you look as if someone's died?" Ron said as he and Seamus sat down to breakfast.

"Kingsley died," Hermione said in a shocked voice.

Harry got up and left quickly. He looked angry and his friends watched him go.

"You reckon we should check on him or should we let him cool down?" Ron asked.

"Let him cool down," Hermione replied. "He looked too angry to see reason."

In the hall, Harry met with people. He wasn't ready for people yet. He was upset. It was never fun when someone you knew and respected was dead. Harry wondered if he'd ever get used to it. He sure hoped he wouldn't have to.

"HARRY POTTER, BOY WHO LIVED! YOU'RE MY NEW BEST FRIEND!" Ariana cried and jump hugged him. "Why so down, BFF?"

"Ariana, stop harassing the Gryffindors please," Draco called. He and Blaise came up to Ariana and Harry.

"Aw! But I love harassing Gryffindors! Besides, Harry's my new best friend." Ariana smiled at them.

"You've replaced me?" Draco raised his eyebrows.

"Naw, he's just a BFF. Not my best friend since forever, best friend for life. Different story." Ariana rolled her eyes.

"You have an innate ability of knowing when people need cheering up," Blaise observed.

"If only that innate ability extended to the actual cheering. I'm rubbish at cheering charms and my jokes are crap." Ariana shook her head. "Why are you so down, Harry?"

"A friend of mine died in a Death Eater attack last night," Harry confided.

"Death Eaters are stupid heads anyways. I'll beat the crap out of the offenders for you, okay? Go all ninja on them and whatnot." Ariana smiled brightly. "Hey, it could be worse, yeah?"

"I suppose," Harry said. "I guess I just hate this stupid war."

"Yeah, me too. Sucks coming from my family. Each side is trying to get us. Apparently we're super stars when it comes to tipping the scale in one side's favor. My family, however, remains blatantly neutral. We can't agree on which side to be on." Ariana scowled momentarily. Then, her bright, ever-present smile returned.

"Which would you choose?" Harry asked.

"Yours. Voldysnort's a lame-o. Seriously, can't stand the guy. He's trying to exterminate people. I can't stand for discrimination." Ariana got a fierce, passionate look in her eye.

"Ariana is a visionary. Her utopian views on life are not to be trusted," Draco remarked. "We'll take her away now if she's bothering you."

"She's actually helping," Harry replied.

"You Gryffindors have an odd view of help," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"Which side do you think they'd choose?" Harry ignored Draco and Blaise and conversed with Ariana.

"Well Draco is a people pleaser and the person he most loves to please is his father so I'd say he'd go to the Dark Side. Blaise, on the other hand, will remain conspicuously neutral until he either gets a sweet offer or one side is obviously about to win," Ariana informed knowledgably.

"A sycophant and an opportunist, eh? She really thinks highly of us," Blaise muttered darkly to Draco.

"The sad thing is, on the whole, she's right," Draco replied in the same dark tones.

"Ariana, have you ever considered Draco romantically?" Harry asked openly. He knew that Ariana didn't take offense to such probing questions.

The two were lounging in the Room of Requirement hiding from their tiring best friends. Hermione was insisting Harry tell Dumbledore something that was, in her words, 'imperative'. Blaise was insisting Ariana find a man while Draco was urging her vehemently not to.

"Why does everyone ask that?!" She sounded frustrated. "He's my best friend and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that. I couldn't live without him as my best friend."

"You two are perfect for each other." Harry shook his head.

"No, what's perfect is you and Blaise. You two are far too attractive and need to get together immediately so that the world will bow to you." Ariana smirked at him.

"How come you're a Slytherin? You sure don't act like one." Harry watched her for a reaction.

"Well, my only friend before starting Hogwarts was Draco. And then we started hanging with Blaise. But, honestly, I'm a Slytherin because Draco was sorted first. If I had been first, the two of us might be Hufflepuffs right now." Ariana smiled.

"So you argued with the sorting hat too?"

"I prefer to think of it as forceful negotiation." Her smile turned into a smirk.

"You've spent far too much time in Slytherin." Harry shook his head at her.

"So, Mr. Potter, are you attracted to the lovely and talented Mr. Zabini?"

"Why would you ask that?" Harry asked, heat rising to his cheeks.

"Aww! You're so cute when you blush! You are so totally in love. That's it. I'm setting the two of you up. End of story." Ariana looked determined. "Come along. I must trip one of you into the other so you have an excuse to be all over each other."

"No."

"What?! Come on! It'll be fun! That's how I get Draco girls. Of course, I always trip the girl because Draco has to remain 'dignified' at all times."

"No." Harry crossed his arms.

"But-- but-- but!" Ariana pouted. She knew that no one could resist her pout.

"Rini, please don't make me do it!" Harry pleaded.

"Why not?" Ariana replied, like a two year old.

"Because I have a lot on my plate right now. Advanced classes, deranged ex-girlfriend out to get me because I won't take her back… oh yeah, and I have a psychopath out to kill me and take over the wizarding world." Harry's eyes were pleading.

"Well, advanced classes are easy and if you need tutelage I can help. Having a boyfriend would pretty much negate the crazy ex-girlfriend bit. I can't think of anything to help with the last one save for the fact that we need to bombard the man with love, let the loneliness bombard him and make him want to take his own life. It's actually fairly simple." Ariana smiled triumphantly.

"Can I at least do this on my own terms?" Harry asked pouting.

"Oh I suppose. But if you don't do anything soon I'll be forced to take this into my own hands." Ariana looked serious for once and Harry found himself more than a little scared.

"What happened to James? Severus, did you break his heart?" Severus Snape stared in awe at the woman in front of him. When he was her student, twenty-odd years ago, he would never have believed her of compassion like this.

"I think you'll find that if his heart is broken it's entirely his fault," Severus replied dryly. He didn't even look up from the potion he was stirring.

"If you'll recall, James is always very adamant about getting what he wants. He never does anything halfway." McGonagall shook her head. "When he was after Miss Evans, no matter how superficially, he was persistent and no one was ever in doubt of what he wanted. When he was sure that he wanted to be a fighter for the old crowd, he would stop at nothing, not even Dumbledore's _personal _request for him _not to_, to become the fighter he wanted to be."

"Well, when it really matters, I'm a coward, Minerva. Or haven't you seen enough evidence to point you to that conclusion? I could acquire some more, if you'd like." Snape turned and was seething; however, Minerva McGonagall was a strong willed woman and was not going to be scared by one Severus Snape.

"Perhaps you'd be happier if you just listened to James for once. He knows what he's doing." She scowled at him, hoping he got the point.

"Perhaps I'd be dead if I listened to James," Severus replied bitingly.

"If you'll recall, his advice saved your life when Black's advice would have sent you into the waiting maw of a werewolf." McGonagall's scowl turned into a full out glare.

"Once. ONCE, has James been right. I do not call that skill; I call that a fluke." Severus was fighting to maintain his composure. If he didn't, he knew his potion, a very important one for both sides, would be thoroughly ruined.

"James has a remarkable ability of knowing what's right and what's going to make him happy. The only time he's made a mistake was letting Pettigrew be his Secret-Keeper. Even then, he beat that. You're being thoroughly impossible and so I will leave you to sit on what I've said." Minerva turned on her heel and stalked out.

"Doesn't know what she's bloody talking about," Snape muttered angrily at his potion. "Probably doesn't even know the whole story." But as he muttered angrily, he thought. Even if she didn't explicitly _know_ the story, she knew what James' side had been. All he'd wanted was happiness for the two of them, closeness. And Severus was fighting for a side that was slowly losing it's credibility. He could feel his own side of the argument growing more and more ridiculous.

That was when his left forearm started burning and he had to banish such thoughts out of his mind as he rushed off to yet another ridiculous meeting.

"I'm worried about Harry," Hermione informed Ron as they sat in the common room.

"Don't be. Harry can take care of himself, Hermione. He's not a little kid anymore." Ron yawned lazily.

"There's something up though. He seemed a little more tense than usual when we read about Kingsley's death the other day." Hermione was trying to put it all together.

"Did you hear Cho Chang has a new boyfriend? You'll never guess who it is, either." Ron smirked.

"Who?" Hermione looked a little suspicious.

"Collin Creevy." Ron smirked.

"WHAT!?" Hermione looked shocked out of her mind.

"I'm not lying. Go ask him… or her. Anyone, really. Apparently he comforted her after Harry so tactlessly denied her. He's a little womanizer." Ron smirked proudly.

"He is quite small for a fifteen year old," Hermione muttered.

"I thought you'd see it my way." Ron was inwardly triumphant at having successfully diverted Hermione's attention. "Now if you don't mind, I've got a meeting with my boyfriend that I can't miss."

"Severus, have you betrayed me?" The high, cold voice drawled.

"Why would you ask such a thing, my lord?" Severus asked as he kneeled before Lord Voldemort.

"Because Dumbledore seems to know exactly what I'm going to do mere moments before I do it." Voldemort's voice grew angrier.

"Perhaps he's infiltrated your ranks, my lord. Shall I ask him?" Severus implored.

"Do you think he'd really tell you if you just asked?" Voldemort let out a laugh. "That's doubtful."

"He trusts me, my lord. I wouldn't even ask him outright. I would casually lead into it and he would tell me. He trusts me." Whenever he attended one of these meetings, Severus found himself begging for approval like he was a kid again.

"Do what you must. Until then, I don't want to see you. Get out immediately." Voldemort waved his hand dismissively and Severus scrambled out dutifully.

Then, Severus apparated to Hogsmeade and went straight into the Hog's Head. He had never been one for crowds and thus the Three Bromsticks was out as an option. Despite the fact that he wasn't a fan of the people in the seedier walks of life, he went to the Hog's Head if only for privacy. Aberforth would be sure to see him home safely as, despite his hatred for his brother, he still felt a sense of loyalty to the man.

"Albus wants you back at the castle immediately," Aberforth said as Severus walked in. "He said it was urgent."

"Well he can just sod off," Severus muttered to himself. Death Eater meetings always made him immeasurably tense.

"I won't serve you tonight, Severus, until he gives me the okay." Aberforth glared at Snape.

"Manipulative old bastards," he muttered darkly. He did, however, turn around and made his way slowly up to the castle. What use was there to rush if there was no one there in need of the assurance that he was safe?

He ascended the stairs to Dumbledore's office and didn't knock before entering. He was greeted by the sight of Dumbledore waiting patiently for him.

"I see Aberforth relayed my message," he said with a smile.

"Unfortunately," Severus snapped as he sunk into a chair tiredly.

"I need to know the latest targets before your inebriation renders you incapable," Dumbledore insisted. "I don't want to find out until it's too late again as happened with Kingsley."

"He wants highly specified poisons. Most likely, he has targets in mind and wants to use their natural disadvantages against them. The meeting, however, was to flush out traitors. He suspected me of betrayal but I insisted that you probably had a plant that you weren't telling me about. I'll let you mull that one over but he doesn't want to see me until I have something to say on that front." Severus rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"Well, I'll need to know the poisons he wants you to make and I would like to know the traitors he found. Tomorrow we'll have tea and discuss all this and who you want to accuse of being my plant. Goodnight, Severus." Dumbledore smiled.

"Are you going to tell Aberforth he's allowed to serve me?" Snape scowled.

"No, I think it would be better if you went to bed. You've a long couple of days ahead of you." Severus growled but didn't reply before stalking out of the office.

"Is it just me or does Snape look downright murderous this morning?" Ariana asked at her regular pop over at the Gryffindor table that morning.

"Downright murderous? He usually looks downright murderous," Ron squeaked. "No, today he looks like a psychopathic killer bent on some sort of revenge."

"Well he can take his revenge and shove it up his--" noticing that there were ladies present, Harry decided it was best not to swear "--up a not-so-public orifice." He was glaring in Snape's direction rather fiercely.

"Why are you so angry Harry? Is that teenage angst manifesting itself again?" Ariana teased.

"Sirius says my dad's gone completely batty since Snape refused to acknowledge them as a couple. Says dad blames himself for everything which is ridiculous because Snape is being a prat." Harry growled into his eggs.

"Think, for a moment, about your source, Harry. Sirius hates Snape. Why would he say anything good about him?" Hermione asked logically.

"Because he feels sorry for Mr. Harry's Dad? Those two are in freaking love, no questions asked." Ariana shook her head. "So are they mad at each other?"

"From what Sirius says, Dad wanted to be explicitly dating and Snape said he wasn't ready for a full blown relationship and Dad wondered if he'd ever be ready for a full on relationship so he walked out." Harry shrugged.

"What, does Snape want to see other people?" Ariana shook her head. "He doesn't want an exclusive relationship?"

"You're not helping," Ron remarked. "In fact, I think you're stressing Harry out."

"Sorry, I deal with pain and stuff by being ridiculous and attempting to be funny." Ariana gave a meek smile.

"It's okay," Harry gave a small smile. "He just pisses me off, rejecting my dad like that."

"Your father can take care of himself, Harry. Just, let it be," Hermione pleaded. Ariana could see why. Harry was so tired he looked like the walking dead.

"Haven't you been sleeping, Harry?" Ariana tilted her head to the side curiously.

"I'm fine," Harry grumbled.

"Well, at least wear some sunglasses so you can sleep in class," Ariana replied.

"RINI!" Hermione shouted. "Don't encourage their tomfoolery!"

"Fooling with Tom could be construed as something very disgusting, Hermione," Ariana warned. "But I will continue to condone and provoke mischief from them." Ariana smirked. "You've seen how well-behaved my two best friends are."

"What, Malfoy and Zabini?" Seamus laughed. "Those two get in more trouble than Ron and Harry!" Seamus shook his head.

"SHOOSH!" Ariana scowled at Seamus jokingly. "I'm trying to reform them. I mean, they were rehab-worthy when I started my new policy. Now they're not-quite-squeaky clean." Ariana smiled. "I likes me some bad boys."

"You are insane," Hermione muttered.

"Don't you love it?" Ariana's smile grew wider.

"Miss Morrow, kindly remove your eyewear." Snape held his hand out expectantly.

"Dude, I wear my sunglasses at night," Ariana replied. All the muggle-raised students in the class let out little sniggers.

"Miss Morrow, that impedes your learning. Hand them over," Snape snapped.

"Dude, these allow me to have x-ray vision and learn stuff really fast," Ariana insisted. "I give my ultimate accessories to NO ONE. You wouldn't take away my bracelets of doom, would you?"

"MISS MORROW, IF YOU DO NOT GIVE ME THOSE SUNGLASSES RIGHT NOW I WILL GIVE YOU A DETENTION!" Snape seethed.

"Dude, chill pill." Ariana replied. She then set the sunglasses atop her head and let them sit there.

"Detention." Snape said and walked back to his desk. "Now get back to brewing!" he snapped at the class.

"Scar-head, we are so getting him and your dad back together," Ariana muttered to her partner of the day. Draco and Blaise were working together as per Draco's insistence. Ariana had whined about being unloved but Draco was hearing none of that.

"Woah, Professor Snape isn't here," Ariana said when she arrived at detention.

"He said he had some things to do so I'm filling in," Draco replied.

"Dude, PARTY!" Ariana cried.

"First, you're in detention and therefore are being _detained_. Second, how can you have a party with two people and no food?" Draco gave her a pointed look.

"First, I'm being detained by my best friend who doesn't seem entirely against my party idea. Second, I have connections and I'd call for a pizza. I know how to work a phone, Draco." She shook her head at him.

"I would comment but I have no idea what you're talking about," Draco drawled.

"Why are you supervising anyways? Aren't you usually with a chick during the prime date hours?" Ariana asked.

"I volunteered and you _are_ a chick," Draco replied, shaking his head at her.

"But I mean a chick you're interested in making out with. It's doubtful that you'd want to play tonsil hockey with your best friend." Ariana gave him an accusing look.

"I told Blaise subtle wouldn't work." Draco rolled his eyes.

"What do you mean subtle didn't work?" Ariana tilted her head to the side. "And why were you talking to Blaise about subtlety? He knows subtlety about as well a giraffes know short; it's just something other people do." Ariana rolled her eyes.

"You really don't get it, do you?" Draco asked.

"Ferret, you're being far too cryptic for my liking," Ariana scowled. And then she felt a pair of lips upon her own.

Thunder crackled in the sky. James had a feeling this would be one of the last rains before the winter. He could hear the rain pouring outside the little flat. James didn't envy Sirius and Remus who'd decided to walk to a movie in muggle London.

"Upon further investigation, they found that the convicted criminal was innocent of the charges held against him and actually had a few worse crimes under his belt," the news reporter on the television reported. James switched it off, tired of hearing about all the bad in the world. He vaguely wondered why no one reported the good stuff. Then, he remembered that nothing ever turned out happy.

There was a knock at the door. _Remus and Sirius must have forgot the key_, James thought to himself. He sighed and picked himself off the couch and made his way lazily to the persistent knocking at the door. When he opened that door, standing in front of him was a drenched Severus Snape.

"Come in?" James asked more than invited as he stepped away from the door.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I LOVE YOU ALL… and I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I apologize for the double cliffy. I'm an evil, evil writer. Um, seriously people, I'm feeling neglected in the review department. The more reviews I get, the more initiative I get to write (and the more guilt I have when I DON'T write). You can thank Brucey, Conscience, Caffeine and Sugar for my finally getting this chapter out. I LOVE Y'ALL DANGIT! Oh, and I'm planning and scheming for some fun plot twisting… and that's actually where I got the name for Plost Twits (I capitalize it so it's easier to find and not mistake and whatnot). The whole serenading waterfowl bit… stolen from my sister because she wanted to serenade a duck from the roof (don't ask… she was more hyper than me… scary thought) and the loose electron thing was stolen from my biology teacher… we were learning about photosynthesis and ATP at the time… Anyways, I'll stop distracting you so just freaking READ already!**

_**Disclaimer: **__**I don't own Naruto… wait, wrong fan fiction… I don't own Ichi… dangit! Wrong again! I don't own Shawn Spencer… no, that's not right… I don't own House… no… still not it… I don't own HARRY! Nor do I even own double cliffies… let alone regular ones… there's a lot of things I don't own and I'm broke as heck so rest assured I'm not making any money off this either.**_

Severus moved silently to the couch. 

"Can I cast a drying charm? Do you want something to drink?" James was nervous. He wondered what Snape was doing here.

"Yes to the first and no to the second. Albus wants to keep me sober," he sneered. James could see he was tense. He cast the drying charm nonverbally and he wondered if he should add a cheering charm or if that would violate the sobriety aspect when Snape let out a huge sigh like he was about to say something.

"Look, before you say anything, I just want to tell you that I'm really sorry. It was out of line for me to make such demands. Relationships are about compromise." James stared down at his shoes, hoping beyond hope that Severus would forgive him but afraid to meet his eyes.

"No, I was stupid. I was too busy worrying about you staying alive that I couldn't see how I was losing you anyways." Snape shook his head. "I was too cautious and I was being ridiculous and inexorable." He smiled a small, sad smile that made James just want to bombard him with love. "You know who made me realize I was wrong? Minerva. Of all people, she convinced me of what you were after! Can you believe that?"

"Wait, so if we're both penitent, what does this mean?" James asked.

"It means I want to tell the world that you're mine," Severus said matter-of-factly.

"Well, we need to take safety into consideration," James replied. "You work for certain crowds and we need to maintain that you stay in your position.

"The headmaster and I have agreed on a quite a few things involving that. Neither of us see this as detrimental to me politically." Snape stepped closer to James.

"You're sure?" James asked. It was a loaded question, to be sure. He was asking so many different questions with those two words.

"Of course I am," Severus replied as he bridged the gap between the two. Their lips met and James felt blissful. Better than he had in a long time. He gripped Snape close and vowed never to let go.

One of Draco's hands was at her waist and the other tangled in her hair before Ariana responded to the kiss. Her eyes fluttered shut and she just lost herself in the kiss. When he licked her bottom lip for entrance, she finally realized that she was kissing Draco. Her best friend. 

Ariana pulled away to see a hurt looking Draco. "That was stupid. I shouldn't have done that. I just-- Blaise convinced me that you'd feel the same way when confronted with it and--"

"Ferret face, you're babbling," Ariana cut him off. "I just wanted to ask if you meant it."

"Of course I bloody meant it! You think I'd jeopardize my oldest friend for a kiss that meant nothing?!" Draco's voice rose in pitch as he grew hysterical.

"I don't know! You're always kissing some random girl who means nothing and I don't want to be that," Ariana scowled. "I don't want to be just another girl."

"Ari, you've never been just another girl. You're my best friend. Hell, it took me years to realize you ARE a girl." Draco shook his head. "Somehow, I always knew that, in the end, you and me would end up together. We're a perfect match in the pureblood world. We're from influential families, we've got plenty of gold, we're the perfect pureblood match. I think I might've tried rebelling no matter how much I wanted it." He sighed.

"I think I know what you're saying," Ariana replied. "Are you sure you want this? Once it happens, there's no going back."

"Yeah. I love you Ariana. You've no idea how much." Draco rested his forehead on hers.

"You're being sappy!" she crinkled her nose. "But I return the sentiments, Draco Malfoy."

"Dear Moony and Padfoot," Sirius read the note aloud goofily the next morning at breakfast. He and Remus had come home to an empty house the night before but hadn't thought anything of it as they tumbled into bed, dead tired. "I have run off and gotten married in Vegas to a transvestite named Roberta. I call him/her (I'm not really sure anymore) Bob. Code Green and a Half. This is not a drill. Repeat. This is not a drill (it's a hammer). Love, Prongsie."

"Did he really write that?" Remus raised an eyebrow. 

"All but the Prongsie part. I added that for effect.

"What was Green and a Half again?" Remus asked. His eyes were faraway, traversing, most likely, in their youth.

"I believe that's the one where he marries a hooker and moves to Canada," Sirius replied conversationally. "I guess Bob just wasn't who he thought they were." 

"That is why I'm going to do extensive background checks of the person I marry," Remus replied.

"Dude, you've known me for 25 years; what background is there to check?" Sirius looked affronted.

"Well, maybe we'll get in a fight someday and, in a spur of the moment decision, I'll marry my internet sweetheart." Remus gave Sirius a small smile.

"But background checks aren't conducive to spontaneity," Sirius pointed out.

"Hmmm, I suppose you're right," Remus mused.

"So, are we going to go and find Prongsie after breakfast?"

"That would imply that we don't know where he is," Remus replied as he read the _Daily Prophet_. It reported even more deaths.

"Well we don't," Sirius replied thoughtfully. "Because, unless he's got an illicit Time Turner, he can't be in Las Vegas and Canada all at once."

"I'm shocked you know that particular geographical fact," Remus replied.

"Well all the partiers know where Vegas is, darling." Sirius smirked as he drawled the word darling.

"Good morning my lovely Gryffindorks!" Ariana greeted and gave all the Gryffindors sitting around her a hug. She had, once again, decided to sit with the Gryffindors for breakfast.

"How come you never eat at the Slytherin table?" a particularly snooty Gryffindor third year asked.

"Because they don't know what the phrase 'idle chit-chat' means," Ariana rolled her eyes. "They also don't understand that eavesdropping is a _bad_ thing."

"Hogsmeade this weekend," Ginny pointed out.

"Dude, it's Halloween already?" Ariana raised an eyebrow.

"Not quite. But this weekend, yes," Hermione replied.

"Ron's probably going with Seamus," Harry said.

"And me and Dean are going together," Ginny added.

"I'm probably going with Dork-o," Ariana mused. "That leaves Blaise free, Harry," she added as she nudged the Boy Who Lived in question.

"But then who will Hermione go with?" Harry asked defensively.

"Oh, Viktor's visiting for the weekend," Hermione replied off-handedly. "Didn't I mention that to you?"

"You're leaving me all alone?!" Harry cried in distress.

"Yay! Blaise will be eternally grateful!" Ariana smiled broadly.

"Great," Harry muttered.

"Your enthusiasm is duly noted, Potter," Draco sneered. All the Gryffindors turned simultaneously to see the Slytherin standing directly behind Ariana. She, however, didn't turn around. She instead leaned back so that she was looking at him upside down.

"You're being protective of our little Blaise," Ariana smiled at him.

"Well you're not so I feel that I have to." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Dude, I'm the setterer-upper… setter-upper? I'm CONFUSED!" Ariana scrunched up her face as she tried to think.

"What are we talking about?" Blaise must have gotten lonely at the Slytherin table all by himself so he had come over to where his friends were.

"How I'm setting you up," Ariana replied. Draco nudged her pointedly. "Um, dude, the best way to convince someone you're lying is by telling them the truth," she said in reply.

"Wait, you're seriously setting me up?" Blaise looked concerned.

"Naw, I'm too busy being psychic," Ariana replied.

"Draco, is she there any truth to anything she's currently saying?" Blaise turned to him.

"Honestly, I'm not even trying to keep up," Draco admitted. "However, very rarely does Ariana flat out lie."

"Good point. The only problem is finding out which bit is the truth." Blaise mused a bit.

"Hey, Harry," Ariana nudged the raven haired boy. "Ask him."

"Ask him what?" Harry looked more than a little confused.

"You know, about this weekend." She was trying to whisper but, as Ariana had a normally loud voice, her whisper was fairly loud.

"What?!" Harry gave her a shocked look. He had no idea that he would actually have to ask Blaise to Hogsmeade.

"Oh for Pete's sake," Ariana muttered. "Blaise, you're going to Hogsmeade with Harry."

"What, I don't get a say in this?" Blaise raised an eyebrow. He was fairly used to Ariana's controlling ways.

"Nope. Not an ounce. Now have fun, my duckies. I think I'm going to go sit with the Ravenclaws and see how long it takes for one to curse me out." With that, Ariana got up and flounced over to the Ravenclaw table.

"Four minutes twenty-five seconds." Ariana sat down next to Harry in Potions and declared he was her lab partner for the day.

"What?"

"That was the longest the Ravenclaws went without using a word that would be bleeped out on muggle TV." Ariana smiled. "I didn't count damn or hell or… shoot, I forgot what other words you can use on TV."

"Why aren't you making me sit with Zabini? I thought you were setting us up." Harry shot Ariana a bored look.

"You don't know the first thing about relationships, do you?" Ariana gave Harry a knowing look. "You have to take it slow in the beginning so as not to scare them off. Plus, you've gotta play hard to get sometimes."

"Do I want to know how you know all this?" Harry asked her.

"No," Ariana replied. "It involves serenading waterfowl… from high elevations…" She wore her trademark crazy smirk.

"I knew that I didn't want to know. I shouldn't have brought it up…" Harry shook his head. He noticed, for the first time, that Professor Snape seemed to be in a good mood. And by good mood he meant relatively speaking. Compared to others with more cheery dispositions, Severus Snape was just in a quiet mood.

"Oooh, Professor, you haven't yelled at Harry yet even though class started twelve minutes and fifty-two seconds ago," Ariana bugged out her eyes as much as she could.

"I'm giving you all a study period as we're about a month ahead of where we would need to be to cover all the information that will be on your exams." Snape surveyed the classroom.

"Since when has that stopped you before?" Ariana asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Shut up! If you talk like that, maybe he'll change his mind!" some Hufflepuff yelled at her.

"Dude, he obviously just made up with his significant other and is thus too blissful to cause severe emotional trauma to teenagers today." Ariana rolled her eyes at the kid.

"What does trauma mean?" the kid whispered to his partner, another Hufflepuff, who snickered.

"Harry," Collin came up to Harry as he was studying in the common room. He had a Transfiguration test the next day and he hadn't exactly inherited his father's innate ability for the subject.

"What is it Collin?" Harry snapped, slightly irritated. He had been reading the same paragraph for the last fifteen minutes and it just wouldn't sink in.

"I was wondering if you knew what kind of sweets Cho likes considering you dated her and all." Collin looked sheepish.

"How should I know?" Harry snapped again. He slammed the book shut and then let his head fall painfully onto the thick, hardcover tome.

"Well, you and her were together for a couple months…" Collin started. "I figured you would know…" Collin shot Harry an apologetic look.

"Why don't you go ask Michael Corner. He's her ex too, you know," Harry glared in Collin's direction. He wasn't angry with the boy. Collin didn't know he was being a pest. Harry was just in a foul mood.

"Oh, Harry, is it okay that I go out with her? I mean, I know we're sort of friends and all and I know she's your ex and I know I should have asked. I guess I just really like her. I forget stuff when I really like people." Collin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yes Collin, it's fine that you go out with her. It's not like I still have feelings for her. Hell, I don't even care about her at all. I wouldn't wish her death but it's not like I'd wish her well either." Harry realized he was being a prat to Collin. He figured he should probably make an effort to be nicer to the kid. What had Collin ever (intentionally) done to him?

"You're the best, Harry," Collin beamed. "But you honestly don't know what kind of sweets she likes?"

"No Collin, I don't," Harry replied through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll stop now, I promise!" Collin insisted and ran off. He came back a moment later. "Is Michael Corner a Ravenclaw?"

"Yes, Collin," Harry replied, rolling his eyes.

"Thanks Harry!"

"He'd be better off asking Cedric," Ron said sitting next to Harry. "I'm surprised you didn't suggest that. Of course, Roger Davies would be a better ex to ask. He's into that sappy stuff."

"He just wants to bed with girls," Harry replied. "He doesn't do sappy for any other reason."

"You're probably right," Ron replied.

"Something major is going on, I know it," Severus paced his living room. James sat on the couch trying to be supportive.

"Maybe he's only telling people involved. You know, keep it a secret until it happens so that word can't get out even to bumbling ministry officials." James looked hopefully at his boyfriend. And yes, he did a dance in his head every time he even thought the word now.

"If he's doing something big he'd want everyone to know," Severus stopped to give James a look. "He's not very humble."

"Well, maybe he's waiting until no one can do anything to stop him. Then he'll tell everybody he's pregnant with Lucius' baby." James was trying and failing to lighten the mood.

"I'm sure Narcissa would love that one. Draco would have an aneurism," Snape replied dryly. "No, I think he senses dissent in his ranks. He's trying to skunk out the rats by not telling any of us anything and making us all do ridiculous tasks in secret. I'm making vast amounts of cheering potions for him."

"Well, he could have some use for cheering potions," James pointed out. "Maybe he's just trying to get stoned out of his mind."

"I highly doubt that. He's not the type to use such things for recreational use," Severus drawled.

"Right, he's a sadist and, most probably, a masochist." James shook his head.

"Actually, the Dark Lord has a surprisingly low pain tolerance. I once needed a drop of his blood for a potion and he whined like a baby about the cut for the next week, insisting it was infected and also insisting that the one and only medi-wizard he staffs is far too incompetent to heal such terrible wounds." Severus wore a smirk.

"Maybe he should hire a muggle doctor," James replied, returning the smirk.

"And go against all his morals? Fat chance that'll ever happen." Severus sunk onto the couch next to James and leaned his head on James' shoulder. "I wish I knew what he was planning." 

"I know Sev. Just relax. Don't get defensive around him or he'll know something's up." James kissed the top of Severus' head and Severus just nodded.

"'Arry! Ron! 'Ermione!" Hagrid called as the three were conversing quietly on the grounds. They had been taking a walk and speculating why Voldemort hadn't tried something yet that year. "I got a beautiful creature to show yeh." He beamed at them. The three followed him, knowing it would be no use to protest.

Hagrid led them to his garden where there were a four little dog-like creatures running around. Each was a different color but all four had long, corkscrew-esque tails. One was purple, another a midnight blue. A third was a pumpkin orange and the last was a bright, indigo color.

"What are they?" Ron asked as he watched them chase each other around the pumpkin patch.

"They're Plost Twits. A very rare creature. And even more rare is findin' one that's a warm color. That orange one's worth a vault full of gold at Gringotts." Hagrid stared at them lovingly.

"They look like toy dogs," Harry muttered. He'd been chased by heel biters often enough to know what they looked like. The suburbs were full of dogs.

"Toy dogs? You mean like teddy bears only with dogs?" Ron asked.

"No, dogs come in certain classes, Ronald," Hermione explained. "Toy is the smallest. Miniature is just larger than that."

"Why would they call them toys if they're not?" Ron looked perplexed.

"Because they look so small that they're like a child's plaything." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Why are they so rare, Hagrid?" Harry turned the conversation back to the plost twits. 

"Hermione looks like she wants to take this one," Hagrid replied.

"Plost Twits are very rare creatures because they've been placed in captivity to near extinction. Plost twits come in many different colors but most are ones you'd hardly see on a regular dog. They live near bodies of water because they love to eat aquatic plants. They use their tails to propel them when they're swimming, which is why they're tails are so formed. Other than being captivated, they're very hardy and are resistant to most attack, magical or otherwise. Because of this naturally high resistance and the fact that they look so friendly, wizards are always trying to catch them."

"They sound cool," Harry remarked. Ron nodded.

"Oooh! Are those Plost Twits?" James came up and asked Hagrid.

"They are!" Hagrid beamed. "How've you been, James?"

"Good, good. Severus let me have coffee with breakfast," James beamed at them all.

"Oh dear," Harry muttered.

"Ah, he did, did he?" Hagrid asked awkwardly. He was obviously unaware of James' and Severus' relationship.

"Yep!" James was still beaming. "Oh, didn't I tell you that he and I are together, Hagrid?" James finally noticed Hagrid's face.

"Together as in datin' and kissin' and stuff?" Hagrid asked incredulously.

"And that's just the innocent stuff," James grinned impishly. It was a habit he'd picked up from Sirius. Hermione giggled.

"You know, some muggles think that homosexuality is hereditary. Others think that you're just born with it. Narrow minded people think it's a choice." Hermione recited all these things as if they were statistics out of a textbook.

"Personally, I don't know what it is." James smiled. "All I know is that Sev let me have cooooooooffeeeeeeeeeee and I have lots of energy." James was bouncing around like a four-year-old on a sugar high.

"Remind me to tell him to never let you again," Harry replied with a sigh.

"Sometimes I wonder which one of us is the father and which is the son, young man," James mock-scolded his son.

"Me too," Harry sighed again.

"Those Plost Twists are so CUTE!" James said, distracted yet again. 

"I know a ministry approved breeder," Hagrid replied. "If you want one I can get you a deal. They're still mighty expensive but more manageable. They make excellent pets."

"They seem a little tame for your liking, Hagrid," Ron pointed out.

"Ah… well, Professor Dumbledore thought that I should maybe get some friendlier creatures to show the youngins," Hagrid replied delicately. 

"His exact words at that staff meeting were that you're a Ministry liability and with the state of things he can't afford the Ministry snooping around, unfortunately," a dry voice said behind them.

"SEVY!" James shouted and hugged the Potions Master.

"Professor Snape," Harry said through clenched teeth, "I suggest you never let my father have caffeine ever again."

"I quite agree, Mr. Potter," Snape said as he slightly reluctantly peeled James off of him.

"But Sev…" James pouted.

"We'll talk about this later, James," he replied sternly. And then, he mumbled to himself, "I feel like I'm dealing with a five-year-old."

"Silly Sev, I'm ADD like a loose electron!" James replied. "Which is to say that, in my current condition, I can act no older than four-years-old. You're very bad at estimates." James continued to babble on as Snape excused them and dragged him off.

"It's odd to see those two getting along but odder still to see Snape and you, Harry, to speak civilly to each other," Hagrid said, awestruck, after the two lovebirds were out of earshot.

"It's even odder to be a part of," Harry replied.

"WELCOME TO HOGSMEADE MY DUCKIES!" Ariana cried. She was leading a very paired off group. Ron and Seamus were holding hands muttering sweet nothings/obscene and very un-innocent things to each other; Hermione had just spotted Krum and was hugging him in her vice-like hug; Harry and Blaise had their arms crossed and were scowling at her in tandem, and Severus and James had followed the kids for the fun of it. 

"We've all been here before, Rini," Blaise said in a distinctly mad voice. Ariana knew that only acquaintances and people who knew her by face and reputation called her Rini. All her closest friends called her either by her full name or, when they were lazy, Ari. 

"Stop being a spoil-sport Zabini," she replied in a cold tone, smile still gracing her face.

"We're going to Zonko's!" Ron called as he and Seamus wandered off. Hermione called a goodbye too, before taking Viktor to the stationary shop because she absolutely _needed new quills. Severus and James muttered something about needing sweets before telling the kids to behave and heading off. That left Draco, Ariana, Blaise and Harry._

_"Doooorko!" Ariana cried. "I need books. Now." She said before shooting Harry and Blaise and impish grin and dragging him off._

_"So," Harry said awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets._

_"So," Blaise replied. He was forcing himself to seem uninterested. Ariana, of all people, should know not to exploit his weaknesses. He hated that. Damn her and her female intuition. If it weren't due to that particular endowment, she wouldn't be aware that Blaise had a major crush on Harry and she wouldn't try to set them up because she was a meddling little girl._

_"Wanna go to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer?" Harry asked. "At least there it'll just feel like hanging out."_

_"You know, for a Gryffindor, you just made a really good point," Blaise smirked._

_"We're notoriously good at surprising people," Harry replied. "We like to pretend we're dumber than we are."_

_"Well, most of you are just as dumb as you seem," Blaise replied. "But you, you're actually kind of annoyingly smart once someone gets to know you."_

_"Well, I do have my own brand of logic that seems to get everything about half-right until the very end," Harry muttered darkly as the entered the Three Broomsticks. They grabbed butterbeers and headed over to a table._

_"What are you talking about?" Blaise furrowed his brow._

_"You know the annual trouble I get in every June?" Harry asked. Blaise nodded. "Well, I spend the whole year each year building up to that. Working out theories, plotting ways to save the world, that sort of thing. The problem is I don't sense trouble is afoot yet," Harry scowled darkly. "I'd prefer to have something to talk to Ron and Hermione about secretively like always."_

_"Are you serious?" Blaise asked. "I thought you guys just didn't like to hang out with other people. You're always plotting?"_

_"Yeah. If I didn't, I would be half as prepared for my annual encounter with Voldemort," Blaise winced a little here, "and a lot more people would be dead now."_

_"I understand," Blaise replied. "Although, I must admit that even we Slytherins don't spend our whole year figuring out plots and all that." Blaise smiled a little._

_"You winced when I said Voldemort… are you unused to the name?" Harry's brow furrowed._

_"Even Death Eaters' kids would wince at it," Blaise replied. "He's the Dark Lord in those circles. My mum tries to stay out of it though. She's more of a society lady, to be honest. All she cares about are the oldest families with the most money. She calls him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."_

_"That actually makes sense," Harry replied. "What about Ariana's family? What are they like?"_

_"Well, her father's originally from around here. He went to Hogwarts with Lucius Malfoy and they were friends during their school days. Then, he moved to America because he liked the politics of their magical government. He also wanted to avoid the war because he was being pressured into choosing a side. There, he met a French witch, Ariana's mother. They married and had two kids: Ariana's older brother Christopher, who lives in California, is set to inherit the family's possessions and Ariana, who they're prepared to marry into the Malfoy family." Blaise had ended his explanation._

_"Are either of her parents Death Eaters?" Harry asked. He really only remembered Death Eaters who he knew outside of their helping the Dark Lord capacity._

_"Nope. Mr. Morrow doesn't like being told what to do and Mrs. Morrow is a spirited French woman who cares more about cheese and wine than politics." Blaise smiled. "Lucius Malfoy has been trying to get them to join for ages. Mrs. Morrow usually just laughs and says something in French."_

_"What is a family supposed to be like?" Harry asked. He figured if Blaise laughed at him, he could run away. He'd never ask Ron or Hermione because they wouldn't answer him honestly._

_"Family are the people who will be utterly honest to you and you can hardly stand them sometimes but you can't live without them and you'd do anything for them." Blaise just smiled._

_"Mmm," Harry mused, taking a sip of his butterbeer as he thought. "I suppose Hermione and the Weasleys are that for me. And Sirius and Remus I suppose. And I'm starting to feel that for Dad…" Harry trailed off, lost in thought._

_"They say you can't choose your family," Blaise said philosophically. "And they're right, to an extent. You can't choose the people you're related to by blood. You can, however, choose your family as in the people around you who you'd go to the ends of the Earth for. I like that."_

_"You'd like to be able to choose your own fate, right?" Harry asked quietly._

_"Yep. I believe that nothing's set in stone and you can change anything you want." Blaise had a determined look in his eye._

_"What's that look for?" Harry was curious and fascinated by the boy in front of him._

_"I'm going to ignore my mother's teachings about relationships and I'm going to really truly fall in love. I decided that just now," he replied. His dark, mesmerizing eyes were filled with a passionate determination._

_"Well… I don't want to screw with fate," Harry replied quietly. "People are counting on me and if I don't help, more people will die."_

_"Silly Gryffindor trying to save every life," Blaise's eyes danced with amusement. "That's what I like about you Gryffindors. You don't write anyone off and would probably save even your enemies from death."_

_"There's only one person who I could kill," Harry replied. "And he's hardly human anymore."_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, everyone, but I've some not so great news for you. This will be the last update on JPiND for a long time. I'm on a roll with Redefining Family, I want to finish it and, to be quite honest, I'm not even sure where I'm really **_**going**_** with this story anymore. But hey, reviews with ideas and encouragement are always welcome! **

_Disclaimer: Do you think wishful thinking will get me the rights to Harry Potter? Well, as it hasn't worked yet, I still don't own it…_

"It's almost Christmas! It's almost Christmas!" Ariana sang as she skipped down the corridors a few months later.

"Miss Morrow!" Professor McGonagall called.

"Professor McG-dog-izzle! How are you?" Ariana smiled widely.

"Miss Morrow you're being far too loud in the hallways!" McGonagall scowled at her.

"But Professor, we break for Christmas in a WEEK! And Christopher is coming home with his girlfriend! I wanna torture his girlfriend!" Ariana wore an impish grin.

"Don't you want what's best for your brother?" McGonagall looked a little skeptical.

"Well… I guess I'll only torture her if she's bad for my brother. How does that sound?" She didn't wait for an answer before skipping off brightly down the corridor.

"What on earth am I going to do with my students?" McGonagall asked shaking her head.

"There've been far nuttier ones, dearie," a portrait next to her replied. McGonagall chuckled at that.

"OI! COLLIN!" Seamus shouted from where he was seated on a couch across from Collin Creevy and Cho Chang in the Gryffindor common room. "Who said you could bring your Ravenclaw tart in here?" Seamus scowled.

"Oh, you're one to talk, Finnegan," Cho scowled darkly at the Irish boy who was seated beneath his own boyfriend.

"Hey, Ron's a Gryffindor. He can come in the Gryffindor common room any time he likes." Seamus then, very maturely, stuck out his tongue.

"Yeah, why IS there a Ravenclaw in the common room?" Ginny asked. "More importantly, why do I get the feeling that the Slytherins are trying to sneak in here?"

"Because Rini is asking the first years for the password and portrait location," Ron replied.

"Right, I forgot," Ginny replied before getting up and leaving. "I need to go to the library unfortunately."

"I'll come with!" Hermione exclaimed. She would always jump at the chance to look at books for hours on end.

"Anything to get away from the love-fest," Harry replied and followed them. Ron and Seamus shrugged and continued groping each other in front of first years. Collin and Cho held hands and conversed politely, only slightly creeped out by the two boys across the room from them.

"So, what are you two doing for Christmas," Blaise asked Ariana and Draco in the common room.

"Christopher's coming home!" Ariana cried happily. "But he's bringing his annoying Californian girlfriend with him." She wrinkled her face in disgust.

"Are we spending Christmas with you?" Draco turned to his girlfriend.

"Mmm, probably."

"What're you doing, Blaise?" Draco turned to him.

"Spending my holiday with Mother and Step-Dad number I can't remember," he smirked. "I think I'm going to have some fun messing with him though."

"You guys coming to the annual Malfoy-Morrow Christmas extravaganza?" Ariana asked.

"For sure. Wouldn't miss it!" Blaise smiled widely.

"Then I can have some F-U-N FUN!" Ariana cheered as she punched the air. "Does Blaisey-Waisey want to be set up ALL NIGHT LONG?" Ariana's eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Ari, you've been trying to set me up all year. Do you see how well that's worked for you?" Blaise raised an eyebrow.

"Well, um… hey, why didn't the Harry thing work out again?" She asked interestedly.

"Because you're not very good with follow-up?" Blaise ventured a guess. "I dunno. It just never went anywhere. Although, he is a hottie."

"You two went to Hogsmeade together! I figured you'd have your tongues down each others' throats after that." Ariana shook her head.

"Doesn't work like that," Draco said in a sing-song voice.

"What, men are dense and need convincing?" Ariana teased.

"You needn't be mean about it, Ari," Blaise pouted.

"You admit it?" Ariana's eyebrows shot up. "My god, I think he's just admitted he has a flaw!"

"Oh shut it," Blaise scowled at her. Ariana did the mature thing and stuck her tongue out at him. Then, they all burst out into laughter.

"What are we doing for Christmas?" James asked Severus excitedly. He was lying on their couch. James had decided to move himself into Severus' quarters and the other man had yet to protest.

"I'm expected to stay here and watch over the children who choose not to go home to their families," Severus replied coolly.

"Did you volunteer for this job?" James asked. "You don't seem like the type to spend your holiday with people you can't really stand."

"I don't wish to spend my holiday alone," he replied. James knew that, as much as he hated the company of others, Severus could only stand to be completely alone for so long.

"I'm here," James replied. He propped his head up and looked the other man straight in the eye.

"I know. I'm just so used to spending the holiday here that I can't really imagine it any other way," Severus replied. "Your son tends to spend the holiday here as well."

"Well, we've been invited to the Weasley family Christmas party," James said. "And we're going. You, me and Harry. We're a family." There was a note of finality in his voice.

"Will the mangy mutts be there?" Snape asked, mostly for the sake of looking reluctant despite the fact that he knew James could read him like a book.

"Yes," James replied, "And we shall cause mayhem and mischief like always."

"Oh Merlin, you and the twins," Severus muttered darkly.

"The twins?" James raised an eyebrow.

"Fred and George Weasley. They were, up until their flight-- and I do mean flight in the literal sense as there were brooms involved-- last year, they were Hogwarts' resident pranksters. They're two years older than Harry." Severus watched James for a reaction. "And they own a joke shop in Hogsmeade."

"Well it's settled. Sirius and I shall out-prank them."

"I'm sure Molly will love that," Severus' voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Are they related to Ron and Ginny?" James still looked confused.

"Molly and Arthur Weasley have seven children. In descending age order they are Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George, Ron, and Ginny. I know this only," he added at James' look that accused him of caring, "because I've taught the lot of them."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," James replied airily.

"Dark Lord Makes Attempt on International Relations," Hermione read aloud the next morning at breakfast.

"He's going for foreign supporters?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded gravely, her eyes moving rapidly down the page.

"Hot damn," Ariana put in her two cents (and then some) as always. "The man doesn't know when to quit while he's not too far behind. First rule of international affairs is that the house always wins."

"Uh, Rini, that's gambling," Harry pointed out.

"Either way, he's an idiot," she replied with a shrug.

"Cho thinks it's because he was a product of abandonment and neglect," Collin offered. "He's probably pretty messed in the head after a childhood like his, right?"

"Every one of us is a product of his or her childhood," Hermione pointed out. "And I'm sure not one of you experienced perfect parenting. No, he's a product of his environment but also, he probably was genetically predisposed to be vile. I mean, his family was notorious for incest."

"Perhaps we should stop assessing the character of a Dark Lord as it's quite obvious he's morally repugnant," Ariana put in. "And yes, I did just want to say repugnant because it's a funny word."

"Well, be that as it may," Hermione replied, "I'm sure there's some reasoning behind his abysmal behavior."

"He doesn't know any better. No one could control him when he was younger. He never heard the word no. It doesn't not change the fact that the man is ethically lacking," Ariana sounded almost exasperated.

"You sound like you desperately hate this topic," Ginny pointed out.

"She does," Draco replied.

"What are you doing over here? Don't you know that no matter what you do, I will not sit at the Slytherin table for breakfast?" Ariana scowled.

"I can hear you pouting, at full volume no less, from across the Great Hall, Ari." Draco shook his head at her. "You are terribly loud when you sulk."

"I do try," she conceded good-naturedly. "Now, let's go to class."

"It doesn't start for another half hour," Ron said, sound repulsed by the idea.

"Well yeah, but Draco's blond. He gets lost really easy," Ariana said in a stage whisper. When she finished she wore a triumphant smirk.

"Come on," Draco grabbed her arm to drag her away. "Leave the poor Gryffindors to their meal."

'You know, sulking and pouting are two very different art forms," Ariana informed Draco as he dragged her across the Hall and to the doors.

"I know, but you needed to get out of there before you hurt someone," he replied. "Now tell me why you're dead set against discussing the reasoning behind the Dark Lord's depravity." He looked at her expectantly. They must have looked odd, just standing in the entrance to the path to the dungeons. Draco had his arms crossed and Ariana was looking around, trying to avoid the subject.

"Fine weather for December," Ariana remarked. "Lots of big snowflakes."

"Tell me, Ari," he growled impatiently. "It's obviously distressing you and it bothers me that I don't know why." He leveled his concerned grey eyes to hers.

"Oh fine," she replied grumpily. "I think that we shouldn't speculate why he's bad. There's no real reason he is. Maybe he's just a heartless, cold bastard. WHO CARES?! No matter the reason, he's still a murderous asshole! He still kills people he doesn't like for no reason other than their blood offends him. Blood!" Ariana threw her hands up dramatically. After they came down, she slid down the wall until she was sitting.

Draco sat next to her. "Don't worry," he said, pulling her into his arms.

"I hate this. I hate that he's such a bigoted baby. I hate that he forces people to choose between what's easy and what's right. I hate that there are people who choose what's easy." Ariana buried her head in his chest.

"I hate that he makes you so very upset," Draco muttered and kissed the top of her head.

"Yeah" she replied. "I hate that too."

"Do you know who barged into our flat this morning?" Sirius asked, barging into Severus' and James' living quarters on the first day of winter break.

"You do realize the ridiculousness of that statement accompanied with your actions, right?" Snape drawled. He was sitting at the table across from James sipping a cup of tea and reading the paper.

"Prongs is my best friend. I can barge in his living space whenever I so choose." Sirius shook his head as if this was obvious.

"Who burst into your morning spoon session with Moony, Padfoot?" James asked, humoring his friend.

"We were not spooning this morning!" Sirius sounded appalled. "We were making out whilst making breakfast," he corrected.

"I do hope it was nothing that could burn," Severus remarked as he calmly turned the page of his paper.

"Just tell me who it was, Sirius." James was growing impatient.

"Nymphie," he stated dramatically. James wracked his brain for the name, coming up with only mentions of a 'Baby Nymphie, my cousin' from Sirius.

"Your cousin? The one you used to baby-sit?" James asked. The thought of Sirius babysitting was still an unpleasant one.

"Yes, well she's all grown up now and an Auror. She says to call her Tonks-- that's her surname, James-- or Dora now." Sirius scowled.

"And since when has Sirius ever listened to anyone," James replied knowingly.

"Hey! I listen to Moony sometimes!" Sirius pouted.

"He doesn't count. He's your _somebody_," James insisted.

"Back to my point," Sirius said, obviously closing that subject. "Nymphie was trying to coerce _my_ Moony to give her 'a chance'." He put dramatic air quotes around the words 'a chance'.

"Ooh! Ickle Nymphie is trying to move in on your man!" James cried.

"I cannot believe Nymphadora would do something like that," Severus put in.

"Oh, but she did, Snapey, she did," Sirius replied seriously. "I think it's because Moony's too shy to let the Order know about our relationship. I'm sure Molly would like me a helluva lot more if Moony just told her. Then she'd know I do have a rational side-- it just happens to be outside of me."

"You're lucky that Lupin is rational enough for the two of you," Severus remarked calmly.

"And for about four other people," Sirius added smirking. "Good thing Prongsie has you, Snape. You're rational enough for ten people."

"Now Padfoot, do be fair. Sev and Moony are equally as rational. You're just biased because you're smitten with Moony and find that being rational is highly overrated." James gave his friend a pointed look. Sirius merely shrugged.

"Perhaps you should break the news to Nymphadora," Snape suggested.

"No, I'm letting Moony do that. While I'm in the next room, of course. It wouldn't be as entertaining if I wasn't there to hear her reaction." Sirius wore an impish grin.

"What if they cast a silencing charm?" James asked.

"That's silly, James!" Sirius cried. "It's not like she'd _know_ I was there."

"His logic seems unerring today," Severus muttered dryly. James let out a chuckle.

"You really think you can keep quiet enough for them not to hear you?" James raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, Moony will hear my stifled giggling as he has wolfish talents. Nymphie, however, won't hear a sound from me." He puffed out his chest proudly.

"And what if Lupin is telling her now, while you're here in my quarters bothering James?" Severus asked, finally looking up from the paper, somewhat triumphantly.

"Shit," Sirius said before running over to the fireplace. "Don't mind if I borrow some Floo Powder, do you?" he asked and then, without waiting for an answer, Flooed back home.

"Oh James, dear, it's been ages!" Molly Weasley cried when he and Severus entered the Burrow. She then wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug.

"It's good to see you again, Molly," James said, a bright smile on his face. "I'd forgotten how many children you had until Severus reminded me the other day. Of course," he added, thinking about it, "I'm fairly certain most of my memories of the Order are still lost." James tried to hide his frustration with a smile.

"Well then, I shall have to introduce them all to you today. As luck has it, Charlie's come home from Romania for the holiday. A rare occurance," she informed him with a smile.

"Have Moony and Padfoot shown up yet?" James asked eagerly.

"No, they haven't," Molly replied. "That Sirius, he's still as ridiculous as always. His madness, however, has shifted from youthful irresponsibility to irresponsibility born from years of boredom." She looked scornful.

"He's been feeling better, of late, I assure you, Molly." James gave Mrs. Weasley a look that said 'I will hear nothing bad about my brother in all but blood'. "I believe the months off gallivanting in places where he wasn't a wanted criminal helped matters immensely. I've been told he was rather sulky after being sprung from Azkaban."

"Sulky and delusional. He thought that Harry, poor dear, was a suitable replacement for you." Molly shook her head sadly.

"Luckily, he doesn't need a replacement for me anymore." James shot her a large grin. "Speaking of Harry, I do hope you're taking good care of him. He's my only son, Molly; you've got six of your own. No need to steal mine."

"He's a fair bit better behaved than any but my Percy," Molly stated. "I might trade you for one of the twins."

"Mum, you know Percy's only just apologized for being a right prat," one of the twins stated as they walked into the sitting room.

"George! Langauge!" Mrs. Weasley shouted.

"Don't you know yet to pick your battles, Mum? Georgie's language has always been atrocious," the other twin pointed out. He then turned to his twin and said, "It's gotten so bad that I'm often ashamed to be your twin."

"Oh shut it, _Freddy_," George muttered darkly. "It's not like yours is any better. You just watch your mouth more around Mum."

"PRONGSIE!" James heard from the entryway.

"In here, Snuffles!" James called back jokingly.

"Merlin, George, you know what this means," Fred whispered to his twin excitedly.

"We get to meet our pranking heroes. Together," George answered.

"Molly!" Sirius cried jovially. "Good to see you again!" He hugged her enthusiastically. "You'll be happy to know that all complaints about how Harry is being raised can now be directed to the man with the glasses who looks startlingly like young Harry, minus, of course, the eyes. Those hazel orbs of mischief belong to the one and only Prongs."

"What are you trying to say, Sirius?" Molly asked, slightly confused.

"That you and I can get along swimmingly now, as my god-fatherly duties have changed slightly. Prongsie, the boy's real father if looks are anything to go by, has returned to take over the parenting business. My soul purpose in Harry's life is to give him bad ideas, not guidance."

"Sirius, I will not allow you to be a bad influence on Harry, do I make myself clear?" Remus decided that was the time to make his presence known to the room.

"Remus, dear!" Molly cried and hugged the werewolf.

"She didn't like my hug," Sirius muttered darkly.

"I didn't get a hug at all, Black. Thus far I have been ignored," Snape drawled lazily.

"Yeah but you _want_ to be ignored," Sirius shuddered at the thought of giving up his position as center of attention.

"Professor Snape!" George greeted happily.

"It's been too long, old chap!" Fred cried. Both twins sprang up to greet their old Potions Master. Sirius laughed.

"Remus, dear, have you been eating enough? You're looking rather thin." Mrs. Weasley fretted over the werewolf. Sirius decided to spring into the conversation.

"I've been telling him that's he's looking a little too thin lately," Sirius told Molly. "He spends all his time out searching for a job when I can soundly provide for the both of us, without working at all, and hardly eats. Honestly, it's maddening."

"Remus, darling, you needn't be so modest. You've known Sirius for more than half your life! If he's willing to provide for you, you should jump at the chance to get old and fat!" Molly chastised the werewolf.

"Moony, love, at the very least, you really ought to eat more and worry less," Sirius added. "I'm not going anywhere this time." And he meant it, too. Every last word.

"Pads…" Remus tried to protest.

"Listen to the man," Molly scolded. "He obviously loves you very much."

"AHA! I told you she would know without us even having to tell her!" Sirius cried triumphantly.

"You called me 'love'," Remus pointed out.

"I've known since I first saw you two at Grimmauld Place," Molly informed. "The way you two look at each other, it's a wonder no one else figured it out."

"You mean we're going to have to tell Moody?" Sirius looked downright scared at the thought.

"No, he caught you two kissing once, with that eye of his. He was surveying Grimmauld Place, making sure no one was spying, and saw the two of you hidden in some room upstairs," Molly said. "Minerva, however, you do have to tell. I don't envy the two of you."

"MUM! The gnomes are trying to steal the chicken feed again!" a gruff voice called from the backyard.

"Charlie works with dragons on a daily basis and can't handle simple garden gnomes," Mrs. Weasley muttered under her breath. "Fred, George, go help your brother and degnome while he guards the chicken feed," she ordered.

"Why can't Bill help him?" George whined.

"We're busy entertaining Professor Snape," Fred added, also whining.

"Bill is already out there, helping your father fetch chairs from the shed," she replied, exasperatedly. "Now go or I'll send Percy with you." She glowered at the twins.

"Yes, Mum," they chorused.

Then, four people pounded down the steps. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all entered the sitting room, laughing at something one of them had just said.

"Sirius!" Harry cried and ran to hug his godfather fiercely.

"See, Prongs!" Sirius cried. "He loves me better." The dog animagus wore an impish grin that instantly made him look twenty years younger.

"He just doesn't see you as often," James replied huffily, pretending to be upset.

"Hey Dad," Harry greeted and hugged his father as well.

"Hey Harry," Sirius said in a stage whisper, "I think Moony's feeling a little left out."

"Professor Lupin," Harry shot a large smile towards his former teacher.

"Now Harry, how many times must I tell you to call me Remus?" the werewolf in question smiled slightly.

"Likely he's as dense as his father and forgets every time that you tell him," Snape said, sounding rather cranky.

"Sev!" James cried indignantly. "I am not _that dense," James defended._

_"Smart. Defend yourself and not your son," Sirius teased._

_"Harry's not that dense either!" James shouted belatedly._

_"Oh my, are you all fighting?" Hermione sounded worried._

_"I think, Hermione, that this is playful banter for them." Harry looked a little shocked and maybe even slightly disturbed._

_"If this is banter, I'd hate to hear a real fight," Hermione stated, eyebrows flying up into her fringe._

_"There's usually lots of cursing and storming and slamming of doors," Sirius explained. "But Prongsie and I rarely fight."_

_"For very long. The two of you, however, were always fighting," Remus amended._

_"We did get in the odd physical fight every once in a while," James mused._

_"If by once in a while you mean once a week, then yes," Remus rolled his eyes. _

_Later, at dinner, James found himself in an in-depth conversation with Sirius and the Weasley twins discussing the various pranks they'd pulled and gotten away with at school. Fred and George's schemes hadn't been on quite the grand scale that the Marauders had pulled off, but then, they hadn't had the budget or the manpower. _

_"We once blew up a toilet and sent the seat home," George explained._

_"Mum gave us the idea," Fred added, a grin on his face._

_"She told you not to do it, I'm sure," James replied, looking at the fierce red-headed woman. He definitely didn't want to cross her._

_"Mrs. Potter was always telling us to stop getting in trouble," Sirius reminisced. "Good woman though. More of a mum to me than my mum ever was."_

_"It's hard to do worse than your mum," James pointed out. "Didn't you send a letter home telling her that you were not only dating a boy but a werewolf as well, once?" James asked._

_"Yeah, I did." Sirius smirked. "That was once me and Moony had moved into our own flat though," Sirius added. "Around the same time as you and Lily got married."_

_"I don't remember that," James muttered darkly._

_"Stop moping, James," Severus chided. "It's not your fault or anyone else's, save for the Dark Lord himself, that you can't remember things."_

_"That's Severus for you," Molly piped in. "Always putting things in perspective."_

_"Everyone," Charlie said loudly. "I have an announcement."_

_"You're getting married?" Mrs. Weasley looked hopeful._

_"Not quite," Charlie said with a smile towards his mother. "Actually, I'm moving back home."_

_"Where are you going to stay?" Molly asked at the same time as everyone else in her family asked a different question._

_"What about the dragons?" was Fred's question._

_"Are you having money troubles?" George looked curious._

_"What are you going to do?" Bill asked, looking worried._

_"Are you going to work for the Ministry?" Percy asked looking excited._

_"Are you seeing someone?" Ginny asked with a romantic gleam in her eye. She couldn't for the life of her remember any of Charlie's girlfriends ever being mentioned._

_"Did you get fired?" Ron asked._

_"Why?" was the most prominent though. It came from Mr. Weasley. Charlie chose to answer this question._

_"As much as I love dragons, I miss my family. Also, it isn't exactly the safest or most lucrative career. I've gotten a job-- well, it's really more of an apprenticeship-- at Hogwarts that I think I'm really going to like." Charlie wore a large grin._

_"Who are you apprenticing under?" Remus looked interested. Of course, having taught at Hogwarts himself, he knew the majority of the current staff. He even knew the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher as he'd gone to school with her._

_"Ah… Professor Snape, actually," Charlie looked afraid._

_"Why didn't you tell me my Charlie was coming home?" Molly swiveled a fierce glare on Severus._

_"He asked me not to tell," Severus replied carefully. "And I haven't seen you since I received his letter."_

_"He asked that recently?" Arthur looked shocked as the last Order meeting had been but a few days before the Christmas break had started._

_"Getting permission from Albus isn't as easy as you'd think," Severus added. "In fact, I only informed Charlie that it was for sure yesterday." Molly looked pacified by that._

_"If it's any consolation," James piped in, "he didn't tell me he was taking on an apprentice either."_

_"Prongs, the universe does not revolve around you," Sirius teased his friend. "It revolves around me." The entire table chuckled at that. "What? It does!" Sirius insisted._

_"You keep telling yourself that, Pads," Remus patted the dog-animagus on the back._

_"Ron, you ought to tell Mum about your boyfriend," Ginny said, a glint in her eye that resembled the one often worn by Fred and George._

_"Ronnie's got himself a boyfriend?" Fred looked astonished._

_"I thought all this time he fancied Hermione." George wore a look similar to his twin's._

_"Oh Ron! Why didn't you tell me?!" Mrs. Weasley looked thrilled. "Who is he?"_

_"It's just Seamus Finnegan," Ron muttered, looking embarrassed._

_"That Irish boy you share a dorm with?" George asked._

_"That's the only Seamus I can recall ever hearing about," Fred replied._

_"Didn't he hate us last year?" George turned to his twin._

_"Didn't believe Harry," Fred clarified._

_"Well he believes me now," Harry pointed out. "And yes, he's dating Ron."_

_"I want to meet him," Mrs. Weasley demanded._

_"Maybe this summer, Mum." Ron was growing redder by the second. "I'm sure he wants to spend his holidays with his family."_

_"Fleur said she'd be over after dinner," Bill announced. "She also said she'd be bringing some dessert. Called it bush du Noel, or something like that." Bill knew he'd absolutely slaughtered the French phrase but he was learning._

_"Is it like… a bush?" Ron asked._

_"No, it means Christmas Log," Bill explained. "It's a kind of cake." Everyone nodded in understanding._

_"Who's this Fleur person?" James asked._

_"She's Bill's fiancée," Molly explained. "Of course, most of the kids know her because she was in the Triwizard Tournament with Harry." Harry settled into a gloom at the thought of how that particular tournament had ended._

_"Harry!" Ron, Hermione and Sirius all cried at once. "It's not your fault!" James gave Severus a look that said 'I want a full explanation later'._

_Fleur arrived just as the last person (Charlie) had been finishing dinner. They all had some cake and Fleur was introduced to James, Charlie, Sirius, who she hadn't met, and reintroduced to Remus and Severus, who she'd only met briefly._

_"You look exactly like 'Arry," Fleur said, pointing to James._

_"That's probably good, considering he's my son," James remarked. "Though I hear he has his mother's eyes. I wouldn't know; damn amnesia," he muttered. Severus squeezed his hand tightly, sending a clear message._

_"Zat explains a lot," Fleur said decisively. "You are very nice to me, unlike most of ze Weasleys." She looked sadly over at Molly._

_"Everyone gets the same starting chances from James Potter," James explained. "Be it a werewolf or a pureblood or a French girl in love with Weasley, everyone starts on the same level."_

_"I started a little higher though, right?" Sirius looked expectant. "Because I'm so great and all." If he'd been in dog form, James knew Sirius would be wagging his tail._

_"Nah, I guess I don't really like you all that much, Padfoot," James joked._

_""Arry eez a good boy," Fleur told James. "I 'ope you are a kind fazzer to him." James wore a small smile. This Fleur chick really wasn't all that bad._


End file.
